Not Only Cultural Differences
by ForeignerWritingInEnglish
Summary: To redeem her troubled past, Elsa, a Danish exchange student, travels to Burgess to study at an American high school. Her host family is very nice, and she befriends Jamie Bennett, a guy just as interested in fairytales and folklore as herself. He tells her about the legend of a certain mischievous winter spirit... (It's very much based on the RotG-universe.) FANTASY AND FLUFF!
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**1. - Prologue**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-

Elsa... I will miss you, so much," my sister cried in my shoulder as we hugged. She tightened her embrace around my winter coat.

"I will miss you too," I said comforting her. "Remember, it's only half a year."

"_Only_? How can you say _only_?"

"You know what I mean, Anna," I smiled to her. "Are you sure you're going to be fine by yourself?"

"Hey, of course," Anna said playing with my side swept platinum braid. "You don't have to protect your baby sister all the time. Besides, I have Henrik and Margrethe."

I laughed at the first comment; I could be a bit overprotective with her from time to time. She smiled at me with a faint blush on her face. "I love you," she said suddenly. "And I'm just so proud of you - I mean, you're actually going abroad!"

"I love you too, Anna."

Peter, a red haired guy in a green t-shirt with a 'cultural student exchanges' badge was tapping his foot, and I took it as a sign that I had to enter security check. I gave Anna another quick hug, smiled to her reassuringly and took my blue handbag with me through security.

"Remember, first thing you do when you get to America, is to skype me!" She yelled from the other side of security. "And I want a number of how many cute guys you've met in America already by then."

I laughed and waved her goodbye. I had a crazy sister, but I loved her for it. She had this strange idea that all guys in North America were good looking. Which was weird, since I thought Scandinavian guys were pretty good looking already. What more could she want than tall, muscular, and dirty blonde haired men? Alas, I was not the one to ask this question - I wasn't really what you would call an expert on the field.

"_Farvel_, Anna," I whispered to myself. A wave of sadness rushed through me, and I couldn't help but let a tear fall down my cheek. When I realized, I blushed and rubbed it off. _I hope Peter wasn't looking my way. _It was hard leaving my little sister; because besides my grandparents Kai and Gerda, who said goodbye to me at home, she was the only person I truly cared for. We had gone through some serious stuff in the past.

You see, Anna and I were raised in a town called Arendal in the northern region of Norway, which was once a very prosperous city. Our ancestors were actually royal once, but that was before the kingdom of Norway annexed Arendal. Still, at school, Anna and I were often teased and called 'the 'princesses of Arendal.' Growing up in Arendal was nice, but when we were still only young - I was about 8 and Anna was 6 - our parents died in a car crash. My father's parents were dead, so it was decided that we should live in Copenhagen with my mother's parents who were Danish. It was a difficult time for both Anna and I, however Anna definitely got through it more quickly than I. I didn't know if it had anything to do with the fact that I was older when they died and therefore it affected me more, but I somehow had a lot more trouble finding friends than she had. In the end, Anna and I grew to have a strong sisterly bond. This student exchange, I was afraid, would challenge it.

"Are you excited to start high school in America?" Peter asked me as we looked at the boarding sign. From the large window beside the boarding sign I could see a plane waiting. I had been lost in thoughts. The plane to London-Heathrow was leaving in half an hour.

"I think nervous is the word you are looking for," I said shyly. "But yes. I really want this to be a good experience."

A chance to start over and to be me - not the isolated and scared Elsa, not being the poor orphan who lost her parents. I could actually fit in. Or, at least, I hoped so.

He laughed. "Don't worry. You'll be fine when you talk with other exchange students about it. We'll meet up with some other students heading for America in Heathrow before we take the plane to Washington. And from Washington ... Where did you say that you were going again?"

"Burgess, it's in - "

"Ah yes, in Pennsylvania!" He said when remembering.

"Do you know it?" I asked curiously.

"It's a pretty small city, but I heard that there is another one of the exchange students travelling with us from Heathrow, who will also go to school there."

"Really?" I asked excitedly. "Who?"

"Ah, I forgot his name. It's in my papers in my backpack somewhere. We'll figure it out soon enough."

I smiled. This exchange student would be a familiar face at school - well, sort of. It made me less nervous.

A stewardess checked my boarding pass and passport, and alongside Peter, my adventure to the so-called land of the free, home of the brave, would begin.

* * *

**-.-.-.-**

**Hello everyone. Thanks for tuning in. This is a new idea that suddenly popped into my mind. If you are bit lost:**

**1. Elsa is originally from Norway, but her mother and therefore her grandparents are from Denmark. When her parents died, Elsa and Anna moved to the capitol of Denmark, Copenhagen. (There is a reason why this is in the plot, you'll see soon enough.)**

**2. There will only be characters from animated movies (disney, dream works, ...) mentioned in this fic. Which means, you've guessed it, it will be up to you to solve the mystery of who I'm referring to, when for example I talk about Peter, the red-haired guy from 'cultural exchanges,' who lets Elsa fly to Neverland... woops, I mean America, of course. **

**3. If you came here for romance and fluff, don't worry - we'll get there eventually. If you're here for the mysteries and adventure, it will start soon - say, next chapter?**


	2. Chapter 2 - Arrival

**2. - Arrival**

_Elsa_ Arendal.

-.-.-.-.-

Beside me on the airplane, there was now a tall, very muscular guy with tanned skin and long, brown hair. The hair almost looked like it was dreadlocks; or maybe some of it was. His name was Zane, Peter told me, and he would be a student at Burgess High. Currently we were on a local airplane from Washington – where we had said goodbye to Peter – to Burgess. Zane was from South Africa, but didn't speak English very well. It was a bit difficult to start a good conversation with him because of the language barrier, but we managed to have a little game of questions and answers before we would arrive in Pennsylvania. I wanted to be sure that when we would meet at school, I could somewhat talk with him. I had decided to shrug off my shyness. This was a new Elsa.

I asked him firstly. "Full name?"

"Zane Eliorillas. You?"

"Elsa Arendal. Favourite colour?"

"Green. You?

"Blue," I answered. I had to think of a good question quickly so the conversation wouldn't die out. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Spare time? Free time?" he asked with a big question mark plastered to his face.

I nodded in reply. His answer came fast: "Oh, Bungee jump and klim… how do you say? – Climbing!"

I was really impressed. He did look muscular, but I didn't take him for a guy actually doing extreme sports.

"You? " he followed up. I chuckled shyly. He kept asking me the same question that I asked him. I decided to shrug it off; at least we were conversing. It was a big surprise to me.

"I read many books," I told him while tightening my seatbelt. We would arrive soon and my new host family would be waiting at the arrival platform. I continued with the conversation though: "Fairytales, adventures, legends, stories about brave people who are not afraid of their capabilities or evil creatures. Stories of people believing in the greater good of other people…" I looked over at Zane who stared at me bewildered. Oh right, he probably didn't understand half of what I was saying; I felt a bit awkward. I wasn't really the one who rambled on and on about what I like to do or any exciting things, it was usually Anna who would talk so much. I blushed.

"I also like to write myself and sing, but I'm not that good," I concluded.

Zane seemed to catch on with my last sentence. "Sing," he asked in an interested way I hadn't heard in his voice before.

I smiled shyly. "Yeah."

"Sing!" he said again loudly.

I looked around confused but then it dawned on me what he had in mind. "No, no, no, no," I said while chuckling a bit hesitantly.

He looked disappointed. "You don't want to sing to me?"

"Maybe later," I said nervously tucking my hair back to its usual braid.

"Promise?" he asked.

"I won't promise anything," I said, perhaps too coldly. _Ugh, promises. Promises are _never_ any good. _

He looked at me as though he was investigating me and came close. Very close. It was fairly intimidating.

"Why you go on exchange?" Zane then asked. I blushed.

"I needed to get away," I answered still completely red in my face. I then turned to look out the window of the plane. The window was frozen and had a pretty fractal pattern. There were pink clouds in the dark sky as the sun was starting to set. It was beautiful. "There is something from my past that still haunts me at home, and I feel this is a chance to let the past be in the past - to somehow _let it go."_

Zane nodded in a way that made me believe he could understand me. Or at least I hoped so.

* * *

The plane landed with a thump. I had my eyes closed; this was it. I was here. I was finally here. Zane and I waited for the huge line of people waiting to get out of the plane to end, and then finally stepped outside in the frozen, American air. The cold somehow eased my nervousness and got me completely focused on what was to come. Somewhere in that airport, my host family was waiting. Clutching our handbags, Zane and I got inside of the airport and went straight to immigration service. After some clearances, we received our luggage and then - finally – came to the arrival gate. I was glancing around to see if I could find the family I was looking for. A father, a mother, and a girl. They should be here somewhere. Zane had quickly found his host parents and his host siblings; a family consisting of merely red heads except the mother. There was a girl with extremely curly hair at the same age as us in tomboyish clothes and three younger brothers looking exactly alike. Triplets I assumed. I waved Zane goodbye with a faint smile. Where was my family? I looked around: Once, twice – wait! A girl with a brown pixie haircut was holding a sign that read, "Elsa Arendal – welcome to Burgess!" She looked around confused; presumably looking for me. I smiled. This was Rapunzel, my host sibling for this year. She would be two years younger than me, and the same age as Anna. She even looked like her. I waved at her and a huge grin on her face appeared.

"Elsa!" she yelled excitedly. Her parents were next to her. _This would be Mr. and Mrs. Corona – Aiden and Joy. _Rapunzel pushed through the crowd and gave me a big hug when we finally met.

"I can't believe my new big sister is finally here!" she continued excitedly. Joy and Aiden came in and gave me a hug too. My cheeks were burning red. _My, they were nice._

"It's so great to see you, Elsa, you can't believe how much Rapunzel has been talking about this," Aiden said.

"I'm so glad to finally see you," I said, very touched.

Aiden took my luggage and Rapunzel my handbag as we headed out from the airport.

"Good thing that you are already wearing your winter coat and hat," Joy smiled. "We don't want Jack Frost go nipping at your nose."

I presumed this was an American expression and didn't bother to question it further though it intrigued me. Rapunzel came close to me while putting on her mittens.

"I already talked with my teachers about you, Elsa – you're already famous at Burgess High!"

"Really?" I chuckled. I wasn't really sure that was such a great thing.

* * *

"So, this is your new home," Aiden said as we entered the house they – I mean we – lived in. We had dined on the way home and I was exhausted from the trip. Still, I couldn't help but find their house extremely pretty. It was like a mansion. _They must be rich_.

"Rapunzel will follow you to your room," Joy said while gesturing to the staircase presumably leading to the bedrooms.

"Come on," Rapunzel replied. As we entered my new room I gasped. The room was huge! And I had a queen-sized bed! _I even have my own bathroom_. Rapunzel chuckled at my amazed expressions and left me to gaze at the surroundings. When I found out that there was a balcony, I almost screamed.

I typed an e-mail to Anna on my iPhone.

"Got here. Family is nice. House is crazily big. I'm totally exhausted. Talk to you soon. XOXO."

I clicked send and headed straight for bed. 'This is going to be great,' I thought to myself before I fell asleep. 'So great.'

* * *

**A/N: OoooOoooO I tell you I'm so excited for this story to finally take form. **


	3. Chapter 3 - New Friends

**3. – New friends**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-

The last couple of days had passed getting to know my new host family. My first impression of them turned out to be completely true to how they were like. They were immensely nice and always concerned about my wellbeing. At first it was a bit overwhelming, but I got used to it. Rapunzel was as easy to talk to as Anna, and I thought that if they knew of each other, they would be the best of friends. I had already introduced Anna to Rapunzel over Skype and they hit it off from the start. It was already planned that Anna would come to visit the last few weeks of my exchange here, so that she could be introduced to my host family.

We had also visited the school and met with my school counsellor, Mr. Hatter. He seemed strange and awfully preoccupied, but we managed to get me a schedule and books for the semester. It looked like this:

8:00 – 9:45 – Mathematics (Algebra) – Mrs. Audley Tremaine

10:00 – 11:45 – English (Creative Writing) – Miss Belle O'Hara

Lunch

12:30 – 14:00 – Biology – Mr. Archimedes Q. Porter

14:15 – 16:00 – Music (Vocal Class) – Mrs. Athena Triton

I had to admit, I was really surprised about how long time the classes would take, but still I was excited! In Denmark, there weren't classes such as creative writing or vocal class, things here were so … different. In a good way.

Today was my first day of school and the first day of the new semester for Rapunzel and the other students at Burgess High. My stomach ached from nervousness and I had to keep reminding myself to get out of my shell and to open up. New Elsa, New era. Nevertheless, it was a complete chaos to figure out what kind of clothes I should wear for my first day. Rapunzel – or Punzie as she later corrected me – had helped me pick out a short dark blue dress – not formal – with black leggings and a grey cardigan. She complimented the European style of clothes and said that I "had to leave some of it here when I return to Denmark." I chuckled a bit at that. I didn't think my clothes were very special, but it seemed that they were here. That also made me nervous. Would the students at the high school judge me for that?

* * *

Joy drove us to school in their Porsche. Yes, they owned a Porsche. It was crazy. Punzie apparently thought the same, since she specifically asked her not to drop us off right at the school, but a block away, since she didn't want to get the unnecessary attention from the students at the school. With a wave of goodbye, Joy then drove off and Punzie and I walked together to school. As we walked on the grounds towards school, I could feel many eyes on me. Then some shouting followed:

"Hey, Punzie, is this your new Danish sis - ?" a girl with red hair and a red t-shirt said standing next to the fountain.

"Did you see her dress?" another girl said.

"Damn, she's hot!" a guy from somewhere whispered loudly to another guy close to us.

Punzie replied politely with a blush on her face that 'Yes, this is Elsa' while we headed for the school entrance. My cheeks were burning red as well. A guy with a goatee and brown locks ran up to us and placed his arms on Punzie's shoulders. "You must be Elsa, right? Punzie told me all about you!"

He was fairly good looking and I would say that he was maybe around my age, and therefore maybe a year or two older than Punzie. I nervously tucked some of my hair back to its braid. "Yes," I answered trying not to sound too posh, "and you must be… Eugene? Punzie's boyfriend?"

"I sure am!" he replied, "but only Punzie gets to call me that. You can call me Flynn." Okay then, then he was a year older than her, or so at least Punzie had told me.

"Eugene?" Punzie asked as we entered the school.

"What, blondie?" This got me confused since Punzie was a brunette. I shrugged it off; some American expression again I presumed.

"I need to follow Elsa to class, she has no idea where that witch Tremaine has her classes," Punzie said.

"You have Tremaine?" Flynn said surprised, "I'm so sorry that she will be your first impression of this place."

Punzie had already told me of how everybody didn't like this math teacher called Tremaine. I had decided not to judge before I met her, but I had to admit that all these warnings almost sent shivers down my spine. I actually enjoyed math and especially algebra, it seemed so logical and was a neat contrast to my otherwise quite unlogical mind. Actually, who was I kidding? I enjoyed every school subject. Back home, they were a distraction to my loneliness. _Not this time_.

Punzie followed me to my locker where we unloaded our school bags and then she followed me to Tremaine's classroom. She asked if I was okay that she left, because she had to get to her own class. I nodded with a shy smile and she just waved me goodbye.

"See you at lunch!" she said as she left.

With my hands tightly wrapped around my math book, I stepped into the classroom. My stomach didn't feel at ease with the situation, _so many new things, new people, and apparently a terrifying teacher._ As I scanned the room, I noticed only a few – two - seats not taken. And of course, creepily many people looking straight at me. I took the seat closest to the front desk as the other not-occupied seat was furthest away from me, and somehow with all these people staring at me, I didn't feel moving past all of them was a good idea. Mrs. Tremaine entered the room with a very fancy cup of coffee in her hand.

"There will be no drama or silly singing in this class," she said sternly while looking down at her class.

"As such," she continued, "I don't expect many of you to appreciate the science and art that is Mathematics and Algebra. However, for those select few…"

She stared at me and while having her dramatic pause. It made me quite uncomfortable.

"who possess the predisposition… I can teach you how to master all sciences and …"

Boy, was she being dramatic. I opened my math book when I felt something poke my shoulder. I looked to my left and saw a boy with brown shaggy hair, brown eyes, sand-coloured blouse and a blue vest smile at me. He handed me a note.

_Are you Elsa from Denmark? My friend Merida has an exchange student at her house and she told me there would be another exchange student, a girl, coming this semester?" _

I nodded at him while trying not to look too much away from Mrs. Tremaine. She was kind of scary. The guy, who seemed to be around my age, sent me another note carefully looking at Tremaine.

_Not all the teachers are as bad as Tremiane. My second period teacher, Miss O'Hara, is awesome. Oh, I forgot to tell you who I am. The name's Jamie Bennett._

I smiled and passed him a note as well.

_My name is Elsa, but you already know that. I'm from Denmark. I think I have O'Hara as well next period._

He smiled at me and I smiled back. He was quite nice. I then turned to focus on Tremaine and her teaching, though it was difficult to focus since she was still rambling on and on about how math was the ultimate science of them all. At some point though, she actually started teaching, and I somehow managed to concentrate.

* * *

Math felt like it could last forever. When the class eventually stopped, I was in desperate need of some fresh air. It took some time for me to collect my things and Tremaine had already walked out of the class. I felt another poke at my shoulder. It was Jamie.

"Hey," he said, "wanna go have some fresh air before heading to Creative Writing?"

"It was just what I was thinking I would do," I replied with a smile, " two seconds, I'll just collect my things."

We headed downstairs, collected our books for English, and went out to the school grounds. The cold frozen air met us and I exhaled deeply. There was nothing that cleared my head better than cold air. When I saw Jamie glancing at me, I nervously played with a loose strand of hair. I had to think of something to say, but Jamie came first.

"So what do you think about America so far?" he asked curiously.

"I like it, it's sort of a new adventure for me," I answered with a slight blush on my face. _Stop this shyness!_

"Cool," he said, and then looked down at me. "Shouldn't you perhaps be wearing a winter coat or something?"

"The cold never bothered me," I replied, "anyway, I'm Scandinavian, you know. That's where the Vikings come from. We don't need those things," I chuckled shyly.

He laughed. "Oh, right," he said, and then suddenly his face lit up, "I actually have an old friend who is like that too. Anyway, we better head over to class."

* * *

Before class had started, Jamie had introduced me to his friends who were in the same class. There was Jane Porter, a British girl who had moved here a few years ago with her father, who was going to be my biology teacher in next period. She was beautiful and had brown hair, a small nose and seemed to be very intelligent. There was also a guy called Jim Hawkins, who had the funniest haircut I had probably ever seen. But somehow it looked good on him. He seemed like the adventurous type and I couldn't help but be fascinated by him. Lastly, there was the girl I had seen at the airport whom I found out was named Merida. Her curls gave away what I could already sense as a fiery personality. My thoughts were interrupted as Miss O'Hara stepped into the classroom. She was a young and quite a stunning teacher.

"Alright class," she said with her petite voice, "welcome to Creative Writing. I think I've been even more excited for this class than you have. First thing I want you to do – " she stopped and looked at me.

"A new face!" she exclaimed happily. I looked away completely red in my face.

"You must be Elsa, the Danish exchange student!" she said happily. I nodded.

"Would you please stand up, get up here, and tell us something about yourself," she said gesturing for me to rise. The class' eyes were fixed on me. _I might just cry. I hate so much attention. But I have to do it. Remember, new Elsa, new Elsa, new Elsa…._

I slowly stood up from my seat and walked towards the teacher. I turned around to face the class, and I was met by a familiar set of eyes. _Oh thank God Jamie is there. At least I know him._

"My name is Elsa, and well yes… I'm from Denmark," I said a bit hesitantly.

"Well, good," miss O'Hara said, "but we already know that. What more do you have to tell? I'll just let the class ask you a couple of questions."

"How old are?" a girl from the back said.

"17," I replied looking at the ground.

"Were you nervous when you came here?" Jamie asked.

"Ye-" I didn't have the time to reply this question as another was asked. "Are all Danes this hot?" some muscular said from the back of the class.

There were a few whispers and whistles. My cheeks were probably the colour of very ripe tomatoes by now. I didn't dare to look at the class.

"Shut up," I could hear Jim say to the guy sitting in the back.

Miss O'Hara then intervened.

"Oh, I think I will ask the last question, Elsa," she said to me with a smile, "why did you choose Creative Writing?"

I was tucking some of my loose strands of hair back to my braid, thinking about the question.

"I think," I said shyly, "I just really like to write. I've also read a lot. I've read so many great fairy tales and stories by, well you probably don't know him, he's a Danish author. Hans Christian Andersen?"

Miss O'Hara nodded in approval. _Oh great, she knows who I'm talking about._

"Well, isn't that interesting!" she said with a smile on her lips, "Mind if I ask you one last question? What's your favourite story of his?"

I looked around the class. They probably had no idea what I was talking about. But when my eyes met Jamie's, he was leaning in on his table, interested. _He must know what miss O'Hara and I am talking about._

"The Snow Queen," I said still looking at Jamie.

He smiled.

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-

**So... Elsa is getting her own group of friends. *Yay* How did you like the Snape/Harry Potter reference in math? **

**Chapters are getting longer, and they will stay longer from now on. **

**Thank you for tuning in and thank you for the follows/favs. Please leave a review if you feel like it - it makes my day brighter!**

**Thank you HenriettaOllande and ShimmerShine for leaving the first reviews. It means a lot!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Nip Her Nose

**4. – Nip her Nose**

_Elsa Arendal_.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So, Elsa… do you want to sit with us for lunch?" Jamie asked as we were heading out from miss O'Hara's classroom.

"I would really like to but – "

"but! No buts! Come on," Jim interrupted.

I sent them all an apologetic look.

"I really appreciate it, you guys are really nice. It's just that I promised my host sister to sit with her."

Merida padded my shoulder and smirked. "Being popular already, are we?"

"It's okay," Jamie followed up shrugging his shoulders. "Which classes do you have next?"

"Um," I said playing with a loose strand of hair, "biology with your dad, Jane. And after that it's Vocal Class with Mrs. Triton. Will I see any of you there?"

"Sorry, no," Jane said, "I have art and astronomy."

"I guess you'll see me in biology," Jim said smiling.

"- and me in Vocal Class," Merida said while sighing. "Ugh, but I'm not a good singer. Had to take the class though. It was either that or instrumental music."

Jamie was the last to answer: "Nah, you wont see me either. I'm sorry."

I felt a tad bit disappointed. Jamie had already been a perfect support for my first day here. I smiled shyly to him and he seemed to notice, smiling back.

"Okay, well… I guess I will see you guys later?"

I waved them goodbye and quickly found myself in front of my locker looking for my lunch box. Someone from behind took her hands in front of my eyes.

"Guess who!"

I chuckled. "Oh, let's see… there are just so many opportunities… but I would have to say – Punzie?"

"Horrible guess!" Punzie said sarcastically and laughed while removing her hands from my eyes. I turned around and saw her together with Flynn and to my surprise, Zane. I smiled at him and asked how he was doing.

"Good. I go gym with Flynn," he said.

"It's a joined class. Sophomores and seniors," Flynn explained shrugging his shoulders, "working on our guns, ey buddy?" Flynn said pushing Zane's biceps with his elbow. "Not that you need it, your muscles are like steel! Dude -"

"This is so exciting! We're befriending ALL the foreigners, Eugene!" Rapunzel beamed. He chuckled at her and kissed her forehead.

"Well let's go then! To the cafeteria!" she said as though she was the captain of marching patrol.

* * *

As we sat down on one of the long rows of tables in the cafeteria, I tried to start a conversation with Zane, who was sitting next to me.

"So, Zane – I met your host sister, Merida - she's really nice," I commented.

"She's awesome," he said shortly, his mouth stuffed with bread, cucumber, tomatoes, and several other things. Gosh, did he eat a lot. We were so different from one another.

"Merida - is she not that senior girl with flaming red and extremely curly hair?" Punzie asked.

I nodded.

"Oh, I would love to paint her hair one day," she started dreamily before Flynn interrupted her.

"I heard she kicks the guys' ass in rugby and she is supposed to be excellent in archery."

"She's awesome," Zane said again, now giving thumbs up as though we didn't catch it the first time.

"Aw thanks, Zane," I heard a girl say behind him. I turned around to find Merida, Jane, Jamie, and Jim standing with their lunch boxes or trays with food from the cafeteria.

"Mind if we sit with you guys?" Jamie asked sending a glance at me.

"Not at all," Punzie gestured for them to sit down, "have you met Elsa – we know that you have Merida – and have you guys met Zane? He's also an exchange student - from South Africa! Isn't that cool?" Her face lit up with happiness. _I can't ask for a better host sister. Introducing everyone, making sure they're comfortable. She's an angel. _

"Yeah, we all have English with Elsa," Jamie said sitting next to me. "She made quite an impression in there."

"Really?" Rapunzel said, giving me a wink. I blushed.

Jane sat down next to Zane and cleared her throat. She then introduced Punzie, Flynn, and Zane to the others and lastly, she introduced herself. "I'm Jane."

"Eyemjane?" Zane asked, "is that name?" He clearly entered Jane's personal space as he did with mine on the plane. He leaned his head close to hers waiting for her next move.

"No, no, no, no," Jane said while everybody laughed at her awkward stare. She gently pointed at his chest and said "Zane," then she pointed back to her own chest, "Jane." She did this twice, and when she was about to do it the last time, Zane stopped her hand with his own. Jane blushed furiously, but kept his eyes locked to hers.

"Jane," he said.

"Exactly," she followed.

There was an awkward silence at the rest of the table. Merida scratched her head looking confused at the odd couple while Jim cleared his throat. Rapunzel was the first to break the silence.

"Jane, are these your drawings? They're beautiful, so accurate!"

Jane blushed, as she got aware of the fact that everyone was staring at Zane and her.

"Oh… thanks – do you take art?" Jane responded.

"I do – I have it next period, it's a joined class for all the classes," Punzie proclaimed.

"Me too," Jane said.

As their chitchat went on, Jamie started to talk to me privately. "Are you okay, Elsa? You don't seem to be talking a lot…"

"Yeah? Sorry, I just thought that moment between Jane and Zane – _did that just rhyme? -_ was kind of mesmerizing in a way," I answered, "you could almost get lost in it as if it were a book." _Please don't think I'm weird…_

Jamie shrugged but nodded understandingly. "Do you need some fresh air?"

I grinned. "Please don't think I'm crazy."

Jamie put his hands up in a defending manner. "I don't. Seems to me that you're just enjoying the beauty of a moment. Like an artist," he said while zipping up his vest. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. _Maybe he's right. _

"So," he followed up, "how about that fresh air?"

I nodded and said goodbye to the others. Jim decided to go with us since I had biology with him afterwards. As we walked out, Punzie sent me a gleeful smile that turned into a mischievous smirk. I eyed her in a 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-way.'

* * *

As we got outside again standing on the school grounds, Jim started talking with some of his friends that I didn't know. Jamie started a conversation that I hadn't expected anyone would ever start.

"The Snow Queen, huh?" he said following up on the conversation I had with miss O'Hara in Creative Writing. I realized that snow slowly had started to fall around us. Every snowflake was distinct among the other snowflakes; each was unique and had a beautiful pattern. _I love the snow._

"Yes," I said quietly.

"I haven't read that story," he said.

A big snowflake with the size of a coin landed in my hand as I held it out.

"It's a very long and complex fairy tale," I said, feeling the coldness of the flake melt in my hands. I turned to look at Jamie. He looked as though he wanted to have a little outline of it.

"You should really read it yourself, I don't want to spoil it for you," I said, trying not to have to give a huge outline of the story.

"Just a little recap?" he asked pleadingly.

I smiled. "Okay. Well, it's about the story of two children – a boy and a girl named Kai and Gerda – who were as close as siblings. One day, Kai is hit in his heart by shards of the devil's mirror, leaving him to become heartless, rude, and without creativity. Of course, Gerda is hurt by this. One winter day, the Snow Queen flies by Kai. She is beautiful but all made of ice: cold, blindingly glittering ice; and yet she is alive, for her eyes stares at Kai like two stars." I stopped as a snowflake landed on my nose. Then, out of nowhere, I started laughing. I didn't know where it came from. It just did. I had to move a hand up my mouth to stop laughing. _What is happening to me?_

"What's… so funny?" Jamie asked looking around confused. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit himself when he saw the big smile on my face. "Go on, the story was getting intense!"

I still had to calm myself before I could continue. "Yeah, so… Kai leaves with the Snow Queen and Gerda goes on a long search for him. I don't want to spoil anymore for you, but I could give you a copy of the tale if you're interested."

"I would love to, thanks," Jamie said. _I have never in my whole life met anyone this interested in the same things as me._

"You're a strange guy," I said, putting my hands in my pocket.

"I'll consider that as a compliment," he followed up.

Jim then approached us asking me if we should head up for biology. I nodded and waved Jamie goodbye.

* * *

As we finished the delicious food that Joy had made for us, Punzie and I small talked for a while and returned to my room. I turned on my laptop as she fell down on my bed.

"Long day, huh?" she said.

"Yes," I answered shortly; I was a bit preoccupied with trying to turn on Skype. Technical stuff was _not_ my favorite pleasure in the world. As I was finally able to get online, Anna called me within two minutes.

"How was your first day of schooool?" she squeeled.

"It was, um… fine," I said.

Punzie sneaked up from behind to greet Anna.

"Please, Elsa," Punzie said alarmingly, "this day went better than 'fine.' Anna, she's already so popular!"

Anna chuckled from across the Atlantic Ocean. "I knew she'd be. She just needed to get a bit away from her surroundings,"

"Everybody here is talking about her foreign clothes, her very cute accent, her beautiful pale blonde hair…" Punzie continued to ramble on.

I smiled at Anna. She had her hair in her favorite pigtail braids. _God I already miss her. I wish she could just join us here._

"…And of course she's already made several guys fall in love with her…" Punzie continued. I blushed looking away.

"Hold on, hold on," Anna said holding her hands in front of the computer screen to get our attention. "She has what?"

"Yeah, I haven't really," I said defensively.

"Oh come on," Punzie blurred out, "that guy, Jamie, is totally into you. And that's just after THE FIRST DAY."

_What? No… I couldn't believe it. _

"No, I don't think so," I said nervously. "We just like the same stuff."

Anna smirked from the other side of the planet. Punzie looked at me accusingly. I held up my hands trying not to look guilty.

"I really don't want to talk about this," I said. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?"

Punzie and Anna shrugged. _Good, maybe they shouldn't judge anyone's actions towards me on my first day. Maybe they just realized that._

The talk went on for about twenty minutes when Anna with a shock exclaimed: "GOSH. It's like two in the morning here. Sorry guys, gotta run." Punzie and I laughed as we turned the computer off. Punzie quietly walked out of my bedroom but stopped at the doorway and turned around.

"Elsa… don't think about what I said about Jamie. It was just to tease you. You know… as your sister," she said, smiling.

"That's okay," I smiled back. "See you in the morning?"

"Goodnight."

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: **

**Yes, so this fanfiction-procrastination for my exams is really, really bad for me. I might have to shut the website down for a week or two.**

**Reviews: There's been some concerns from a couple of guests asking if this is a JamiexElsa- pairing (which I think is quite a new pairing – kinda cool?) or a JackxElsa-pairing. Honestly, I don't really want to spoil anything for you guys. (I think I've made some not-so-obvious hints here and there though - You'll see in a few chapters, you'll just have to hang on tight. If you really can't wait to hear it, PM me.) Next chapter will have a new POV! But from who, you might ask? :o**

**Thank you for the reviews Guest 1, Guest 2, antelucem, and tipsyforharry. **

**You know every review makes me smile and makes me want to write more – so keep 'em coming.**


	5. Chapter 5 - A friendly request

**5. - A friendly request**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-

I was putting my books for Creative Writing in my locker at school while Jamie was interrogating me about some Danish words for things.

"What's the word for pretty?"

"Pæn."

"Money?"

"Penge."

"Snowball?"

"Snebold."

"Toilet?"

I sighed as I closed my locker. "Toilet."

"Oh, it's the same. Seems logical," he chuckled.

I glanced at him in a way that perhaps for an outsider looked like I was a bit annoyed. In truth, I wasn't annoyed; I just thought the words he asked for were strange. I guess those kind of strange questions about my country were one of the things you had to get used to as an exchange student.

"Love?"

My eyes widened as he looked at me expectantly. My face went completely stiff. I hoped he didn't notice. I couldn't help but think of the conversation I had with Anna and Punzie after my first day of school.

"Um... That's one of the difficult words, really," I said, feeling awkward.

"You don't think I can master it, this Danish language? Is it too foreign for me? He asked teasingly.

I had a feeling that this conversation had taken the wrong turn. As though we were in fact really talking about something else. Or perhaps I was just being paranoid.

"I guess you could try it out. It takes some time to learn it though," I warned him.

"Well, what is it then, the word I mean?"

I hesitated a bit before I said it, playing with a loose strand of my platinum blonde hair.

"Kærlighed."

He blinked a few times, clearly thinking about how he should pronounce it.

"Kyaeleeheth," Jamie tried.

I laughed, shrugging off the awkward moment. "Not even close!"

He ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair looking down, smiling awkwardly. We headed for the cafeteria to look for some of the others. During the past week of school I had managed to make friends quite quickly as opposed to back home, where it just didn't happen. It was hard adjusting, because being so open all the time wasn't really a super power of mine. I was careful to become friends with the right people; a lot of people had tried to befriend me, however many seemed shallow. Punzie had even told me about some bet that a few senior guys had made involving me. I didn't really understand why and in truth, I didn't want to know why.

We met up with Jane, Jim, Merida, Zane, Flynn, Punzie, a scrawny junior called Hic, and his very tomboyish girlfriend Astrid. A very strange couple, but somehow they suited each other perfectly. I really liked Astrid's name, it reminded me of home. Flynn had introduced them to us, and in a matter of only a week it seemed that this whole group of people was always meant to be. Yes, they were all very different and there was quite an age difference for some (Punzie), but I thought that they all really complimented each other. At least, that's how I felt it was like - but I couldn't speak for the rest of them. I guess it seemed like that to me since I really hadn't tried having so many friends before.

"So," Punzie said as Jamie and I settled down, "I was thinking, has anyone of you guys ever skated on ice?"

There were some muffles, but only Jim, Flynn, Jane, Jamie, Astrid, and I nodded.

"Well, the lake in the park is frozen solid and on Friday there is this winter festival coming up in the park. You guys wanna come?"

Everyone agreed to meet on the lake Friday. I was surprised that Punzie hadn't asked me about it before, because I didn't bring my ice skates with me, which meant -

"Punzie, I don't have skates with me here and I don't think Zane has got them eit-"

"Don't worry, you can all rent the skates there, they're already renting now," Punzie answered quickly to everyone. "Actually," she added privately to me, "you can probably borrow Joy's skates."

There was a long groan from Zane who frustratedly exclaimed: " I don't know skates!"

Jane smiled beside him, trying to calm him down.

"You'll learn quickly, trust me. I'll teach you," she said to him quietly.

"He's from South Africa, Jane - coming here was the first time he saw snow," Merida said loudly, teasing her South African family member. Everybody laughed, including Zane.

"With all the newbies trying to skate," Astrid said while grinning and looking mischievously at Hic, "I don't think I even have to be on the ice to laugh."

"Did you just _only_ gesture to me?" He said looking hurt, although it was obviously sarcastic.

"You're such a baby."

And the talk went on.

* * *

After lunch and biology, Merida and I headed for what was becoming one of my two favorite classes of this semester. Vocal Music with the talented Mrs. Triton. In the beginning I thought I would die of being too nervous to sing in front of the others, but for now we had only been singing unison as a choir - not independently, which made Merida very happy too. Therefore no one was really aware of how good the other students were at singing. Today, however, Mrs. Triton had different plans.

"So – today I'll divide you in Sopranos, Altos, Tenor, and Bass," she started, "to get some complexity going. Therefore I need to hear you sing by yourself."

Merida and I were sitting next to each other in the auditorium. She quietly handed me a note.

_Musical language is harder to understand than your language, Elsa._

I sent her a sympathetic smile. Merida hated this class. When we were singing together, it wasn't really that big of a deal – but as soon as it came to the theory part, she was always frowning.

She handed me another note.

_Can I talk with you after class? We could maybe meet for some hot chocolate down town._

I nodded and continued to listen to mrs. Triton. I wondered what Merida wanted to talk to me about.

"Today, you will sing a few lines of one of your favorite songs to the class and then I'll divide you into your appropriate sections. Don't worry, I know you haven't prepared for it, but it will be fun."

There were quite a few moans and some rather angry reactions from the class, some of them from Merida.

Mrs. Triton just simply laughed and said we had ten minutes to prepare. I was in shock. _Why hasn't she told us this before? At least I could have prepared myself for this… No, no, no, no…_

Merida was probably in a greater state of shock than I was. As the preparation time started, both of us stared at each other in complete disbelief.

"Do you - ?" Merida asked, her face completely white.

"I have no idea what to sing," I admitted.

Moments passed as I tried to figure out what to sing. I went to look out the classroom window, still pondering. At least 5 of the minutes had passed. It was snowing outside; the snowflakes were falling heavily in big chunks. You could almost hear the sound they would make when they landed on the snow. I noticed a fractal pattern of frost spiraling around itself on the window. I turned around. Of course, of course it had to be _that song._ _It's the only song I know every single word of by heart. _

I returned to my seat, silently humming the first lines of the song. _That will do._

Merida came back a few moments later. She cleared her throat, still looking pale, but somewhat more confident.

"Did you find out what to sing?" I asked.

"Yeah, I chose an old lullaby my mother and I used to sing. It's the only one I could think of. I don't know why."

* * *

"Will you introduce it to us, Elsa?" Mrs. Triton asked from furthest away in the auditorium.

I cleared my throat. Panic shot through my veins. Let me at least sing as good as Merida just did before me; I think everyone was quite surprised when she first sang. She had quite a good voice; Mrs. Triton made her a soprano. I actually thought before she started to sing that she would be an alto, but Merida-the-jock – she took everyone by surprise.

"Elsa?" Mrs. Triton interrupted my quiet thoughts.

"Okay. This is a few lines from a song by a band called Mew. It's called Snow Brigade."

I started quietly, but steadily grew more confident as the song that had been on the top of my playlist for eleven years went along.

"Enable to bring out the something

you want to know, beneath the snow

In winter, you're an affliction

that repeatedly, defeated me

Because I'll find you somewhere,

show you how much I care

Know that there is no escape

from my snow brigade."

There was complete silence when I had finished. Not one sound. I looked around to find Merida's face making sure that I didn't make a complete fool out of myself. She just stared at me bewildered.

"Soprano!" I heard Mrs. Triton yell from the back of the auditorium. "Soprano, definitely soprano!"

* * *

Merida and I sat down at a local café called 'Burgess' best Coffee.' It had a neat atmosphere with old baskets stacked with coffee beans in the corners of the café and there was a constant buzz from the counter.

"Elsa, I already told you, but – wauw! Your voice… why haven't you told any of us about it?"

I blushed and played with my hair, shyly looking down at the table. "You too, Merida."

Merida just simply laughed. "I might be alright, but no match to you! And that song! You have to give me a copy of it."

"It's a great song, don't you think? It's actually from Denmark," I said, still tomato red in my face and trying to get the attention away from me.

"I loved it! Where did you find it?"

I smiled and quietly thanked the waitress bringing our cups of hot chocolate.

"Actually," I said, " my father showed it to me when I was about six years old." I smiled at the memory. "It had just been released back then."

"That's cool – is your dad a lot into music?"

I hesitated with an answer, but Merida quickly noticed it and looked at me, concerned. I tensed a bit, but decided that she and the others would get to know sooner or later.

"My mother and father died when my sister and I were really young, It was back when we lived in Norway."

"I'm sorry," Merida said quietly padding my arm.

"It's okay, it's a long time ago."

There was a little pause while both of sipped at our hot chocolate.

"SO," Merida then suddenly said, "I actually wanted to bring you here to ask you a little favor."

"What is it?" I asked, happy that she changed the subject.

"I don't do winter sports."

I looked at her confused. _I thought Merida was good at all sports._

"And I will NOT let Astrid see me trip on the ice on Friday," she followed up.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Teach me tomorrow night?"

I smiled. "Deal."

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: I know, I'm sorry, I said I would introduce a new POV for you – but then I decided to wait until... you'll see soon enough. I'm really working on how the narrator should act and differ from Elsa's narration, so…**

**I'm very, very grateful for all the questions and nice reviews from all of you. Because of that, I couldn't help but write some more for you despite my exams! Okay, let's take the questions now, shall we?**

**My favourite anonymous guest: I really like how you have thought about how and who Elsa will end up paired with. I can tell you that you've made some really cool conclusions that have definitely crossed my mind too, BUT – and this is a big but – I still think you'll be surprised on how this story will turn out :D And yes, you are completely right, I really liked Jamie as a character in RotG. His extraordinary belief in the guardians was the reason why he is one the main characters in the story.**

**Guest and HopelessRomantic183 asked: Does Elsa have her powers? In my other fic I found it very difficult to make Elsa a believable, mortal character constantly afraid of herself and her powers and still somewhat communicative, so I decided to take a break from it and try to develop her in another way in this fic. Yes, she is mortal, and yes, she doesn't have her powers – but that doesn't mean she ain't special…. I'll just leave that final comment hanging there.**

**GreySneakers14: I accidentally laughed out loud at your review. When I reread the chapter I thought the exact same, haha.**

**Thank you so much everyone: Guest 1, 2, my favourite anonymous guest (as I've now named you), HopelessRomantic183, DragonIceFury, GreySneakers14, and Bliss123.**

**Keep the reviews coming and I might just write a chapter for Wednesday! ;)**

**Here's a spoiler for next chappie: A few memories shall be remembered and thus… a certain meeting will happen. Exciting stuff!**


	6. Chapter 6 - And Old Friendship Rekindled

**6. An old friendship rekindled**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-

I was a bit early for math class with mrs. Tremaine, so I just sat in the classroom alone, waiting. Sure enough, I said before that I didn't hate math or school for the matter, but this teacher was just pure evil. At first I had just thought she was being dramatic, but then I found out that she had made a girl cry. And I could understand why! She interrogated her about some equation for then minutes. It must have been horrible… I wondered when I would be the victim.

Jamie was the first to enter and waved me hello. He headed for my desk.

"Merida said you guys hung out yesterday," he said.

I nodded, smiling. "She's really great."

"She's been my best friend since middle school," Jamie followed up.

There was a little silence as I grabbed a few books from my school bag and placed it on my desk.

"Are you ready for the witch?" I asked.

"Don't even remind me," Jamie sighed.

"Good thing that I have something to get your mind of it; I mean if you're bored in class," I said.

"What is it?"

I took up the illustrated blue book from my desk and placed it in his hands. He looked at the book, a sly smile creeping up his face.

"You actually remembered," he said.

"Of course," I replied, "my little sister shipped me an English copy of it the same day."

He smiled, thankful. He opened the book and took a glance at some of the illustrations.

"The illustrations in this book are really colourful and vivid," he said, still glaring at them.

I walked up beside him and flipped through the book. I remembered the exact page where you could find my favourite illustration. On the picture, the majestic Snow Queen was depicted in her gorgeous white dress sitting in her carriage with the little boy Kai on her side. Snowflakes followed her every move.

"I used to love this one picture when I was smaller, it was - still is - magical."

"You know," Jamie said to me on my side while pointing at the queen on the picure, "she kind of reminds me of you."

"Oh, you mean by kidnapping children and being really cold towards other people?" I asked sarcastically.

Jamie laughed loudly. "No, of course not," he said silently. "Just… I don't know, the way you look. Your pale blue eyes, the paleness of your skin, your hair being so platinum blonde that it's almost white…"

He trailed off as though he was lost in thought. He then looked like he was struggling with something inside him, maybe something he remembered. He actually looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Jamie?" I asked, but he didn't react. He just kept his eyes fixed on the illustration of the Snow Queen. His eyes suddenly lit up.

"How could I forget him?" he said silently to himself.

"Jamie? Are you alright?" I asked, now concerned.

As some other students entered the classroom, Jamie finally looked up, confused as though he wasn't really aware of his surroundings.

"Jamie?"

"I'm okay," he said, smiling. "Just lost in thought I guess…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"You would think I'm crazy," he laughed.

"N- "

Mrs. Tremaine walked into the classroom with her dramatic poise. She was holding a cup of tea in one hand, and in the other multiple-choice sheets. _Great, tests… I hate tests._

Everybody sat down quietly at his or her desks. Before Tremaine started, Jamie handed me a note.

_You were saying?_

I quickly replied.

_I'm the craziest person around. You can tell me whatever you were thinking. _

He chuckled quietly and mouthed me 'later?' I nodded, understanding. As the class began, he was already fully concentrated on reading the book I gave him.

* * *

After sharing lunch with the group, Jamie and I walked out to the school grounds. This was becoming a habit of ours, just to get 5-10 minutes of cool air to freshen up. Snow was falling, again. Pennsylvania was really cold this time of year.

"I'm not sure I liked this Snow Queen of yours," he said with a shy smile.

I looked at him, puzzled at where he was heading.

"I mean, I liked the story and all. It's just… the impersonation of Winter isn't supposed to be cold, scary, and isolated."

"Really? So, how is the impersonation of Winter supposed to be?" I asked.

"Winter is supposed to be fun!"

"Fun?" I asked, confused.

Jamie grinned. "Yeah. I only have great memories from winter; snowdays, snowball and fun times, tobogganing, hot chocolate inside…"

I interrupted him. "Now, the hot chocolate I can agree on and I enjoy the coldness and beauty of winter too; but winter can be cruel, too," I said. Suddenly a memory appeared as a flashback.

_It was winter in Arendal, I was eight years old. _

_"__Do you have to go?" I said, hugging my parents, who were ready to leave. They were on their way to a friend's house for an 'adult dinner.' Anna and I were left with a baby-sitter for the evening. _

_"__You'll be fine, Elsa," my dad replied warmly. And with that, they left._

_It was the last time I saw them. On the newspapers the next day, it said that they were killed in a car crash. The icy roads had been too slippery. Winter. Beautiful, but cruel._

As my thoughts had drifted off, I noticed that Jamie was looking at me expectantly. A silence had followed as we waited for the other to say something. I had to think of something else, quickly – I couldn't talk about this…

Jamie let his hands run through his brown hair.

"So you remember that I said you'd think I'm crazy when I told you something earlier today?"

I nodded.

Jamie was struggling to find the words. I moved closer to him, looking at him expectantly.

"When I was a kid, I must have been around 8 or 9, this _thing_ happened."

_I guess this age is traumatic for children, _I thought, thinking back on the recent flashback. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"Anyway, this _thing_ involved… some mythical creatures."

"It did what?" I said, now getting confused.

"Yeah, thought you would think it's crazy," Jamie said, shrugging his shoulders. He started to walk inside; but I stopped him.

"Jamie, I don't think you're crazy. Actually I'm surprised you don't think _I'm _crazy yet."

He turned around to smile and I smiled back. He crossed his arms.

"Please tell me the rest of the story? You can't back out now."

"Yeah, that's the thing," Jamie said quietly. "This is the embarrassing part. I actually don't remember if _this thing _was something I actually experienced or maybe it was just something I made up in my mind a long time ago; a story. The whole idea about it is just so bizarre now that I've grown up; I chose to forget it. The only thing I do know though, is that that illustration of the Snow Queen triggered an old memory of mine."

"And what memory is that?"

"There actually _is_ such a thing as an impersonation of Winter," Jamie concluded.

_There's what?_

"What do you mean?"

"You might've heard of him. Jack Frost?"

I shook my head, though the name did seem familiar, I just couldn't really point out where I had heard it before.

"Jack Frost? The one who nips your nose?" Jamie asked again for confirmation.

"Nips my nose? Are these one of your American expressions – oh," I suddenly remembered some of Joy's first words when I arrived in Pennsylvania. _We don't want Jack Frost go nipping your nose._

"Yeah," Jamie nodded excitedly.

"And you are saying that this impersonation of Winter exists?"

"_Winter Spirit_ and, yes… I – I think so," Jamie said, now not with complete confident in his voice.

"I'm not sure what to say," I admitted.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to believe in him or anything… just thought you would think it was cool," Jamie said.

I shrugged, still not really sure how to react to this. Still, Jamie seemed so into this subject. I couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. After all, I believed in Santa Clause until my parents died. _And when I was a kid I was so sure that he was real. I even saw – or rather believed that I saw him – come down from the chimney once back in Arendal. But that was a long time ago. Still, if this Jack Frost character is like the Snow Queen – wouldn't it be cool to see their resemblances?_ _I have to read up on this mythical creature soon. Tonight. After skate practice with Merida. _

"Come on," I told Jamie, "Let's head inside."

* * *

Merida and I were putting on our skates at the lake in the park. A few preparations for the Winter Festival were being made for Friday, but it wasn't quite finished yet. I could see that it would become really pretty with the lights that they were putting up. There weren't any others on the lake except a few kids playing with a puck on the other side of the lake. It was still light out, which was necessary for me to teach Merida. I pulled her on the ice, and she tightly grabbed hold of my hand.

"Okay, Merida – just pretend you're on rollerblades. You've tried them once, right?"

Merida nodded, clearly still uncomfortable with the situation.

"Try sliding one of your legs forward and then the next –"

She hesitated, but did as I told her to. In a matter of five seconds, she lay flat on the ice.

"Auch!" she said, her red curly hair all over her face. I helped her up.

"Let's try again," I comforted her. "Now hold my hand while you do it."

She followed my every move, and slowly, but steadily she grew more comfortable skating. At one point, she let go of my hands and started skating for herself. She still didn't look exactly happy about it, but it was quickly getting better.

"That's it! You're doing it! I can't believe how fast you're learning!"

With that, she fell on the ice again. I rushed over to her to help her up again. She happily took my hand again, smiled to me and tried again.

After a few times tripping, Merida looked almost as good as me. I wasn't really a good skater, but I could manage.

When we had a break on the middle of the ice, Merida gave me a hug, which was quite a surprise to me.

"Thank you so much Elsa, for doing this…. And – for not telling the others, especially Astrid and Jamie, about it," she said as we pulled apart.

"Yeah, no problem," I said quietly.

"Can I ask you something, Elsa?" Merida said while we skated back to the edge of the lake to take off our skates.

I nodded.

"Do you – do you like Jamie?"

My eyes widened and Merida noticed.

"I mean, you guys hang out all the time at school, and I was just wondering since you talk a lot about the same things," she followed up.

"Umm," I said dragging out the time. _I didn't even know what I thought about Jamie. I mean, yes I definitely like him in a friendly matter, but… more? I'm not sure. _

"I don't know," I admitted.

"It's alright, must be confusing with you know, the fact that you have to leave again in 5 months," Merida said with a look of worry in her face. _Why is she worried? _

I pulled on my shoes and a pair of mittens.

"Yes," I said, "it is confusing."

There was a little awkward silence.

"Merida – you have been best friends with him since middle school. Do you think he likes me in that way?" I then finally dared to ask.

Merida smiled, still with a worry on her face. "I… I don't know why he shouldn't like you. You're like… perfect for him," she said, now with a slight pang of darkness in her voice that I couldn't quite place.

"Oh," was the only thing I could say.

Merida shook her head and smiled.

"Anyway, thanks again Elsa for teaching me to skate – now I won't make a complete fool out of myself Friday."

"You're welcome, " I said, happy that we changed subject.

I left to head home. On my way home the snow started to fall with shorter intervals, which led my thoughts drift back to the conversation I had with Jamie earlier on. This… Jack Frost character. First thing I had to do when I got home was to search for him on the Internet.

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: Okay, so the chapter came Thursday, not Wednesday. Yeah, I'm sorry, but hopefully the length of this chapter makes it up to you guys. Next chapter coming up: THE WINTER FESTIVAL. OH, THE FLUFFINESS OF THAT CHAPTER, YOU'LL LOVE IT. **

**Question from the reviewers:**

**My favourite guest: Is Elsa Jamie's first crush? Nope :-D (Not that that is unusual for and 18-year-old, do you think? Anyway, yeah, he's still an awkward flirt.) Elsa is special in a way that I cannot give away to you, since that would be the biggest plot spoiler ever. Yes, love sucks, but I would say in this story, love will eventually also rock :D Keep following that Snow Queen hunch of yours, I think you might be getting somewhere. **

**Guest: Yes, and you'll see him VERY soon. As in, VERY soon. **


	7. Chapter 7 - The Winter Festival

**7. The Winter Festival**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Jack Frost is the personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, and freezing cold weather…"

"…a variant of Old Man Winter…"

"…often portrayed as an older man, other depictions show him as a young adult or a teenager…"

"…leaving fernlike patterns on cold windows in winter…"

"…nipping the extremities in cold weather…"

…other versions depict him as a kind being who only wishes to enjoy himself and bring happiness to others…"

"…mischief-making spirit, and with no obligations, he is able to flourish…"

The words from yesterday's research on Jack Frost still echoed in my mind. I still wasn't completely sure about the truth of what Jamie had told me, because why in the world would the personification of winter – the winter spirit – ever need to talk with an 9 year old boy from Burgess, Pennsylvania? What made him so special? It seemed beyond reason. I had to ask him this question sooner or later.

Punzie entered my room.

" 'Morning sleepy head, " she smiled.

"Good morning," I turned and rolled out of my bed.

It was Friday and 11 am; I checked on my phone. Why was I up so late? _My research dragged out yesterday._ I then yawned so loudly that Punzie had to glance twice at me. School was out for today since many of the students had to help with the last preparations for the Winter Festival. I had never experienced a town or community cooperate in such a manner; it had to be a North American thing.

"Are you ready for today?" Punzie asked.

"Yeah, it will be great," I smiled.

"Mum and dad will be joining us at the festival, but only for watching the fireworks and talk with Merida's parents. Apparently they know each other and thought it'd be cool to talk with others who have exchange students," Punzie shrugged.

"Makes sense," I replied, "are they home now?"

"No, silly – they're working. Only students are excused to help with the festival. Wanna get down and have some brunch? We could make eggs and bacon," Punzie started dreamingly.

"Oh um – that would be nice, yeah," I said. "Just give me 5 minutes, I'll have a quick shower."

* * *

When Punzie and I had finished the delicious brunch we had made for ourselves, Punzie asked if it was okay if Flynn came over. I nodded and said it was okay and that I had to catch up with Anna anyway. So I returned to my room and tried to turn on Skype. It took at least 5 minutes but I was getting better at it. Anna called me in a matter of seconds.

"Hey sis!"

"Hey, Anna," I smiled. "I'm so glad to talk with you. It's been a week!"

"I know!" she answered.

"How are things at home with Henrik and Margrethe?" I asked, just happy to talk with her again.

"They're doing okay. Just missing you, like me. I have something to tell you though," Anna said, quite excited, since her hair in pigtails jumped from one side to another.

"What is it?"

I noticed that Anna looked to her left and then winked for someone to come over. _Who is there? _

A guy with dirty blonde hair - quite muscular - and a completely red face came to greet me. He ran his hands through his shaggy hair and said hello.

"This," Anna said proudly, "is Kristoff."

"Hi," I said, a little bit awkward.

Anna then fidgeted with her hands; she wanted to tell me something.

"Anna is there something you want to tell me?"

"Kristoff totally saved me at a party two days ago," Anna said. "There was this foreign guy that I had a crush on who suddenly turned out to be… a handful while drunk, so um…"

"Anna!" I almost yelled, "did he hurt you?"

"No, or well he didn't really, but then Kristoff sort of saved me."

_Didn't really? What is that supposed to mean? _

"To be honest, I had a couple of drinks too, so," Anna said quietly.

"That's no excuse!" I said, shocked. "Anna, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured me.

I looked at her sceptically. _Nobody, I repeat, nobody hurts my sister. _Kristoff must have thought it was awkward to be in a conversation over Skype with a person he hadn't met. He didn't look too pleased to be overhearing it anyway. I noticed and tried to relax a bit.

"Kristoff," I addressed him. "It's nice to know that there are decent people out there. Thank you for helping Anna," I then said, still trying to relax a bit.

"You are welcome," he said, still red in his face. Anna whispered something to Kristoff in his ear and he left the room. She then turned her attention back to me.

"Isn't he cute?" she squealed.

"I thought you didn't like tall blonde men?"

"Okay, good, so you approve?" she hastily said.

"I might. If he doesn't hurt you, that is. I'm just glad that you are alright."

"I'm fine, really," she reassured me, but now with a big smile on her face. Clearly, to her, _I might_ meant approval.

There was a little silence. Anna was the first to break it.

"So is anything interesting happening in America?" Anna asked.

"I gave Jamie the book you sent over, he was really happy about it," I answered, trying not to make a big fuss about it. Still, it didn't help Anna's reaction.

"HE WAS? Oh my god Elsa, he's just like you then. This was the guy Punzie talked about, right? I have to see a picture of him," Anna started to ramble on.

"Hey, easy now, Anna," I said while blushing. "There's nothing like that going on."

Anna just looked at me with a smirk. _Nobody actually believes a word of what I'm saying. Do I even believe it myself? _I shook off the thought. _No. Nothing's going on._

"Anyway," I quickly said to Anna to change the topic, "there's this winter festival going on in the town today, and I'm really looking forward to it. Joy and Aiden are going, and Punzie and the others, too. We're going skating, it will be great!"

"And Jamie is coming too?" Anna blinked.

"Will you stop that?"

"I'm sorry," Anna laughed, "for being interested in my sister's love life."

I frowned. Anna saw this as a sign to talk about something else, and so we did. The talk went for an hour perhaps when suddenly Kristoff knocked on the door. Poor guy. He must have been downstairs talking with our grandparents, probably being questioned. Anna smiled at him and excused herself. I chuckled and turned off Skype.

* * *

Punzie, Flynn, and I were walking together with Joy and Aiden to the Winter Festival next to the lake. It was already getting dark out although it was only perhaps around 7 pm. We had just eaten dinner. I was wearing my soft white winter coat with blue mittens, and I carried a bag with Joy's white figure skates with me. There were stands with people selling all these strange hand made stuff. The sold woodcarvings, other sold hand made mittens, pies, glass decorations, and who knows what more. The frozen lake was lit up with projectors and around the lake there were lanterns giving the place a mesmerizing atmosphere. I inhaled all of it; it was magical.

"Oh Eugene," Punzie exclaimed to Flynn, "doesn't this sort of remind you of…?"

"It does," he said, kissing her forehead.

Aiden threw them a 'I'm-watching-you'-glance and I couldn't help but laugh at that. _This feels so right. Being with these people. I already care so much about them. They are my family. My American family._ _And I feel so comfortable around them._

"Aiden," Joy warned him with a playful voice. She then addressed the rest of us. "Kids, go have fun. Weren't you supposed to be skating tonight?"

Rapunzel nodded and jumped excitedly. She took Flynn's hand and dragged me along with her.

It didn't take long for us to find the others. Merida and Zane were waiting at the place where they could rent skates for Zane, and to my surprise, Jane was with them, too. And she was holding hands with Zane.

When I noticed and Merida caught my eyes staring at them, she mouthed _I don't know when this happened, but it's crazy,_ and she pointed carefully at Zane_. _I laughed at that. I hadn't been smiling this much in a long time. I had an inner feeling of peace and I just felt _good._ Jim showed up next to Hic and Astrid, they had already rented their skates and asked if the rest of us wanted to join them on the ice. Finally, Jamie showed up with girl who looked to be around perhaps 12 or 13. He introduced her to everyone, except Merida, who probably already knew her. Her name was Sophie, and she had the greenest eyes I had probably ever seen. She looked at me and asked if my name was Elsa. I smiled and said yes. She then glanced from me over to Jamie, and – was that a smirk I could see forming on her face? I decided to shrug it off. Sophie found Jamie's mother and they left to look at some of the stands.

We all took on our skates and headed out on the lake. I noticed a few other people from the school there, including Jane's father, Mr. Porter, who looked as though he was tripping. Jane helped him up though and it seemed as though Zane was managing pretty well on the skates despite the fact that he hadn't tried it before. Both of them helped Mr. Porter. Mostly it was just kids on the lake, but none of us minded. I ran a few circles and skated towards Merida and Jamie who were laughing and talking with each other.

"Merida – I didn't know you could skate, you never told me," he said, clearly surprised.

Merida looked to my side and smiled. I smiled back. "Yeah, there's still some things that you don't know about me," she laughed. "Even though it's been… what? 7 years of friendship by now?"

He just chuckled and they continued talking. I thought perhaps I should leave them alone. I wanted to give Merida her moment of skating glory. I met Jim on the middle of the lake; he was holding something in his hands. I came closer and asked him what it was.

"A puck," he said, "do you think you can take it from me, Viking?"

"Of course I can," I said teasingly. _I had never been acting like this before. But I liked it. _

Soon, I was caught up in trying to get the puck from Jim. It was really difficult, since Jim moved on the ice like a professional. Clearly he had been playing hockey. It didn't take long for the others to join in too. Everybody was chasing Jim and the puck like bees follow the Queen Bee, but only Astrid was the closest to get it out of his hands. I was also getting close to him when suddenly Astrid tackled him, which made the puck jump right out of his hand, landing sideways on the ice and rolling into the nearby deciduous forest next to the end of the lake.

"Great," Jim sighed and stared madly at Astrid. Astrid was just about to reply with what was obviously going to be an angry comment before I interrupted her.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," I said, trying to avoid trouble.

"Are you sure?" Jim asked me.

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

With that, I skated towards the place I had seen the puck enter the forest and took off skates to search for the puck in the surrounding area. Immediately I felt the relaxing coldness of the snow through my knitted socks. The puck must have hit something and stopped rolling within a five-yard radius - everything else seemed illogical. It was difficult to see much in the darkness, but I could manage, since the full moon was up and there were also still some light from the winter festival visible from the other side of the lake. I hastily searched the ground, but after a couple of minutes I looked up into the starlit sky in despair.

I froze in one instant.

There was a guy in the tree in front of me! I wasn't able to see him clearly because of the shadows, but he was there. I looked at him intently. There was something not right about him, because I could only make out his eyes from the shadows. Pale blue. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he jumped down from the tree in front of me.

"Wait - You can see me?"

I didn't dare to say anything. I knew instantly who he was. He fitted Jamie's description. He fitted Wikipedia's description from last night. Completely white hair, pale blue eyes, very white skin… Despite the fact that he was so much younger than I'd thought, despite the fact that he was wearing a blue hoodie that I hadn't thought a mythical creature would ever wear, despite his bare feet in the snow, despite it all – I was so sure. That was Jack Frost before me.

He moved a few inches closer towards me with a crooked staff in his right hand, and I almost flinched away. With that, he stopped.

"Why can you see me?"

I still didn't answer. I started to panic. There was a winter spirit in front of me! Only a few feet away. I looked around to see if someone was near me. I was almost about to scream.

"Don't panic!" he said, now coming closer, which made me start running towards the lake.

He flew –_ wait what –_ up beside me and made me halt.

"Please, don't panic."

I stopped, since I couldn't move past him. I looked at him and our eyes suddenly met. Then, it was as though I couldn't move. There was a reflection of the moonlight in his eyes, and they completely ensnared me. I took a step back as I felt something small and hard on the backside of my foot.

_The puck._

"Please, I need to…" I said pointing towards the lake; my voice was shaky. I was just about to run towards the lake again, when -

"I won't hurt you, Elsa," he said.

This time, my eyes widened in shock. _How does he know my name?_

-.-.-.-.-.-

**Oh, well that was a moment most of you have been waiting for, wouldn't you say? :o I know I certainly have. Are you ready for some serious FLUFF AND FANTASY (and drama!) now? I ammmmm…. Though, I must say, I have to wait until my exam is over on Friday. I'm very sorry, but I need to focus! Anywho, I decided because all of you have been amazing, that I couldn't help but write this chapter and this particular meeting for you before the exam-hell. I know you've been waiting and I would get kinda impatient too, soo…**

**Yeah, in this fic Elsa is 17, Jamie 18 and Anna is two years younger than Elsa, so she is 15. And now you might think that's pretty young to drink; but then again, in Denmark there's not really a drinking age. Most people have been drinking there before they turned 15, so… and I loved Kristoff and Anna in Frozen, so I couldn't really help myself.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone. I'm so ever grateful! I hope that you guys will continue with that, you have no idea of how much it motivates me! NOW, questions, shall we:**

**Spinoff: Kai and Gerda aren't her grand parents, their names are Henrik and Margrethe ;) But I must say, you have some pretty neat ideas. You're… getting close.**

**ShimmerShine: I hope this chapter answered your question :-)**

**My favourite Guest: I can definitely see how it would be kind of cool to have Jack as an antagonist, but yeah, I can't spoil anything for ya'! The different views of winter will play a central part in the story though :-) You're very right on that one.**

**Farah: Oh my, thank you – I hope this chapter contained that tea spoon of surprise you were talking about.**


	8. Chapter 8 - A Beauty in White

**8. - A Beauty in White **

_Jack Frost. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

- A Week and a Half Ago -

It had become a habit of mine to drop by Burgess once in a while. After all, this was my 'birth place' and home of my first believer, Jamie Bennett. Only, he did not believe in me anymore. Ten years had passed. The other guardians had warned me about just how painful it was to see how a kid slowly and steadily forgets you, and how in the end he only talks of you as an imaginary friend that he had as a kid. As Jamie Bennett was my first believer, I just couldn't stop coming to see him and check up on him – I was so sure that it wouldn't happen to Jamie. I clearly remember the first time he couldn't see me. It seemed that when kids started to take school more seriously – maybe around grade 6 or 7 – they started to forget. Jamie had found a new friend, an adventurous, yet still very down to earth girl with extraordinarily amount of red curls, and then one winter day I was standing right in front of them - and he walked right through me. There were no words to describe my sorrow that day. Hey, they called me the guardian of Fun – but I still had my ups and downs, for sure. I tried to make him remember. But all the unexpected snow and snowball fights were for nothing. Despite the confused and sometimes hopeful looks that he sent in every direction, he didn't see me. It took weeks to make me get over the incident, and Tooth acted like some sort of therapist trying to explain 'the perks of being a guardian of childhood.' Geesh, it was unbearable.

Today was one of those days I paid a visit to Burgess. With or without Jamie believing in me, I still wanted to see how he was doing. I had already covered the town in snow a while back and for a few days forced the public schools to have a couple of snow days. _The kids better be thankful_. High schools weren't as easily persuaded, but that didn't matter too much – they didn't believe in me anyway. Jamie was in his senior year of high school now. It was difficult for me to clearly remember any of the other kids' age, but I could always remember Jamie's. I owed him that much.

The wind made me fly over the lake – my most memorable place - at the far end of the town and made me easily land on the school grounds. Something told me that they had lunch break, since it was that time of day and there were quite a few people outside, some teasing others with the snow, some couples kissing in the snow, and some were just talking and getting some fresh air. Because I had done this quite a lot, I knew that Jamie had a habit of getting some fresh air during some of his breaks from school. I didn't have to wait for that long until I spotted Jamie – the brown hair and the far too old vest - coming out of the entrance of the school. He walked with a boy that I had recognized as one of his friends before; no one could really forget the strange haircut. Behind the two guys, a smaller and more fragile figure appeared. I flew a bit closer to them to see if I had seen this person before.

_Definitely not._

It was a slender girl with platinum blonde hair placed in a loose braid on her right shoulder. She wasn't wearing anything warm as the others; only a dark ocean blue dress and a grey cardigan over it. _Huh. Maybe I should remind her to wear something warmer._ I made it snow a bit; the flakes I made were oval and quite big. She didn't seem to react really. _Typical._ I moved a bit closer to see her face. It was almost as pale as my face, but it somehow suited her. The eyes were bluer than the sky. I hadn't seen a person like this before; it was strange somehow. I just stood there silently, observing her very regal and poise movement. Jamie's friend with the strange hair left to see some other people, which left Jamie talking with the girl. After a few moments, I decided to come a bit closer, just to hear what they were talking about.

"I haven't read that story," Jamie said to her.

One of my huge chunks of snowflakes landed in her right hand, which she was holding out. I smiled at it. _She enjoys the snow, does she?_

"It's a very long and complex fairy tale," she said while closing her hand around the snowflake, making it melt. She had an accent, which at times could sound as though she was singing, so she wasn't from somewhere around her. I searched my mind for somewhere to place that accent. _It has to be Scandinavian. It would also explain her hair, complexion, and eyes._

Jamie looked at her and after a little persuasion; he made her give an outline of the story. She smiled and started.

"Okay. Well, it's about the story of two children – a boy and a girl named Kai and Gerda – who were as close as siblings. One day, Kai is hit in his heart by shards of the devil's mirror, leaving him to become heartless, rude, and without creativity."

_Sounds like a dull kid. _

"Of course, Gerda is hurt by this."

_Who wouldn't be? Sounds boring to me. _

"One winter day, the Snow Queen flies by Kai."

_The… Snow Queen? _

"She is beautiful but all made of ice:"

I smirked._ Come on, there are no one out there like me, Jamie. Don't believe in her._

"Cold blindingly glittering ice; and yet she is alive, for her eyes stares at Kai like two stars."

I stopped the girl before she could continue with the story. The girl had a far too serious tone in her voice and it seemed to me that she and the story could need a bit of fun – so I sent a snowflake flying from my hand landing perfectly on her small nose. She smiled and started to laugh which revealed a beautiful smile that I had a feeling would be difficult to see otherwise. What really intrigued me though, was how fast she was able to restrain herself from laughing. She managed within a few moments. _Is it because she is older than the kids I normally do it too or because… well, I don't have any other reason coming to my mind._ Jamie looked around confused. _Nope, he doesn't suspect a thing._

"What's so funny?" he asked. _Seriously, Jamie? _

"Go on, the story was getting intense!" he pleaded.

It took a few seconds for the girl to say something.

"Yeah, so… Kai leaves with the Snow Queen and Gerda goes on a long search for him. I don't want to spoil anymore for you, but I could give you a copy of the tale if you're interested."

_Actually, I think you got me interested in it. Even though there's a false winter spirit in it. And a dull kid._

"I would love to, thanks," Jamie said.

"You're a strange guy," the girl said. She was clearly a new friend of Jamie's. What I saw next was almost shocking. I thought I noticed Jamie's cheek turn a slight shade of pink, but it could also just have been my eyes fooling me. I decided to shake off the thought.

"I'll consider that as a compliment," he said at last.

The guy with the strange haircut returned and poked the girl on her shoulder.

"It's freezing out here, Elsa – you should be wearing warmer clothes! Let's go inside for biology," he addressed the girl.

I thought that was an interesting name. _Elsa._

* * *

The following days I somehow couldn't really keep away from Burgess. I saw both Jamie and the girl – Elsa – have more talks on the school grounds and I also saw her through a window at the school. She was in an auditorium of some sort. I accidentally left a frost pattern on the window as she was looking outside at my snow. We were actually almost standing face to face. Her eyes were fixed on my accidental-frost appearing out of nowhere. She smiled at the frost and turned around to start talking with the girl I recognized as Jamie's friend with the red and curly hair. It seemed as though they were nervous about something. I couldn't hear what was going on, but I somehow couldn't help but to sit for a while at the window, looking at what was going on. After a couple of minutes, I started to get bored and flew away to a middle school to start a snowball fight.

* * *

I had decided to leave Burgess. It wasn't fair to all the other snow-loving kids around the world that I spent so much time around here. It was getting dark as I decided to leave, but when I flew up in the air, lights from Burgess' nearby lake caught my attention. I flew toward its and noticed that some sort of event was happening. There were massive gatherings of people and people were selling homemade stuff from the stands. On the lake, teenagers, kids and a few adults were skating and having fun. I flew closer but stopped when I noticed that Jamie, Elsa, and the rest of their friends were there. Elsa was wearing a classis white winter coat and blue mittens, which complimented her hair and made her eyes stand out, even if you watched from far away. I had been looking at her from the air, when I caught myself in the act. _This is dumb. Why is she so interesting?_ After seeing how much fun was going on with their skating, I decided that they didn't need my help and I flew to the opposite side of the lake to watch them skate from a tree. It seemed they were all chasing the guy from before with the strange haircut, when he lost grip of one of those hockey pucks. It rolled right towards my tree and stopped at a tree trunk not too far away from me. A fight was about to start between a blonde and the guy with the strange haircut, but Elsa broke them apart and quickly skated towards my tree. She took off her skates and started searching for the puck in the snow. _Must be difficult with the missing light._ She searched and searched, and I couldn't help but chuckle silently at her failed attempts at finding the puck. _It's right there!_

After a few moments, her eyes wandered to the sky and quickly flicked her a glance at the tree I was sitting in. Her eyes suddenly kept steady on the tree. She didn't move and kept looking _directly at me._ I looked around to see if there was an owl or bird behind me perhaps, but there wasn't. _It's impossible. Can she see me?_

I jumped down from the tree to confirm what I thought might be true.

"Wait – you can see me?"

She didn't reply, but her eyes were wide and clearly full of shock. _How is this possible? She couldn't see me a few days ago? What happened?_ I tried to move a few inches closer towards her, but she flinched away, which made me stop. _She's in shock. That's why._

I tried to calm her down by asking her why she could see me.

There was still no reply, but I could see that she was just about to burst out something, a scream perhaps. I stopped her before everything went wrong.

"Don't panic!" I said, now coming closer.

This act made her so panicky that she started to run towards the lake. I quickly flew up to her to stop her. _I need answers._

"Please, don't panic," I pleaded her.

We were so close that our eyes locked. There was something there I couldn't quite explain. Her eyes reflected the moonlight and she was… stunning. She took a few steps back from me and made a sudden halt at the tree trunk where the puck was hidden. Her eyes were wide in shock.

"Please, I need to…" she said shakily, her voice confirming her anxiety. I could see she was about to run again when I stopped her with my voice.

"I won't hurt you, Elsa," I said.

She stopped instantly and looked at me. Something about that sentence had made her relax a bit. Clearly she had a lot of questions in mind.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked, trying to understand why she could she me.

She nodded. "Jack Frost, the winter spirit," she confirmed with a fragile voice.

"Are you here to hurt me?" she almost screamed.

"I won't hurt you, Elsa," I repeated. _Did she not just hear what I said the first time?_

"How do you know who I am?" I asked.

She looked back at the lake. _Jamie, of course. Wait - does that mean he can see me again?_

She confirmed my thoughts. "It was Jamie."

"Does he… believe in me again?" I said, hopeful.

She looked confused. _She doesn't know what I'm talking about._

"Jamie and I were great friends once, until he forgot me," I said, trying to make her understand.

"He forgot you?" she asked.

"That's the thing about us spirits… we're only seen if someone believes in us," I said.

"He said he didn't know if you were just an imaginary friend or not," she said, looking towards the lake again. I heard a strange sound coming from a pocket in her white coat. She took her cell phone out and looked at something on it. One of those modern texts that teenagers sent to each other, perhaps.

"It's Jamie," she said silently.

I waited for her to say something more. She looked conflicted somehow.

"I've got to go, they are asking where I am…"

"Wait!" I stopped her by grabbing hold of her arm. She flinched by the sudden touch of my cold hands against her warm arm. She turned around looking straight at me, and our eyes met again. Her panic from before had not quite disappeared, but the shock wasn't as evident.

"Just… say hello to him from me, will you?"

Elsa nodded, collected the puck from beside the tree trunk and hurried off. She forgot to take on her skates, and she was met on the lake by her group of friends. All of them looked worried.

I chuckled. _Now how are you going to explain this, Elsa? Will you tell about me?_

* * *

_-.-.-.-.-.-_

**A/N: Here you have it – I've finished my exam for this week. I only have one more left next week! Woop! I told you there'd be a different POV at some point. I think this chapter has answered quite a few questions about just how much Jack has been stalking Jamie and Elsa. A lot. Hahaha. I'm just going to say now that the main POV will still be from Elsa, and I will only a few times introduce you to a new POV. I saw last chapter as a turning point, and I thought I'd just… give a new perspective on the events leading up to last chapter. That will also happen when we hit the next turning point in a few chapter's time. But we will return now to the main narrator and some actual events happening – not just these reruns. Thank you so much for the reviews; it's quite overwhelming. A special thanks to: Potterfowlriordan, HenriettaOllande, Guests, and my favourite guest.**

**Please keep them coming; I have graduation next week and will probably celebrate with who knows how much beer, so if you want to have another chapter fairly soon, you better reeaaally beg for it. Haha :-)**

**Questions: **

**My favourite Guest: About whether or not Elsa will tell Anna about Jack: It's going to be hilarious. You'll see. And yes, indeed it was Hans that Anna was saved from by Kristoff. Didn't really feel like involving Hans too much in the story though. The Merida question: I will make no spoilers, but… I will say that Merida is very protective about him. They've been friends for a long time, and of course she doesn't want to see him getting hurt.**

**Other Guest: I hoped this chapter answered your question. No, Jack didn't hear her sing. We'll wait with that one for later :-)**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Northern Lights

**9. – The Northern Lights**

_Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As I was trying to fall asleep in my room that night, the events of the evening were spinning around in my head. No matter how much I tried to toss and turn, it seemed impossible to me that I would ever sleep.

* * *

_I hadn't been thinking clearly when I came out of the forest and unto the lake; I had just been running directly towards the others with the puck in my hands. How stupid. How long was I gone? It was when the others met me with a worried face that I realized I wasn't wearing my skates. When they looked at my feet and I caught their glance, my face turned completely red. After a little awkward moment, they all laughed at me. Only two people didn't seem to be laughing. Instead of a smile on their faces, Punzie and Jamie's faces were still worried. _

_"__Where were you?" Jamie asked when everybody had quieted down. His face was pale and nervous. _

_"__You were gone in like twenty minutes, we thought something had happened to you," Punzie followed up, not as worried, but still somewhat concerned. _

_"__I… I – uhm," was the only thing I could mutter. What was I supposed to say? My confused face was enough for them to understand that I was too distracted to properly answer any of their questions._

_"__Where are your skates?" Punzie said with a silly smile, her face now a bit less concerned. _

_I pointed towards the edge of the lake next to the forest. Punzie and Jamie agreed to go back with me to get my – actually Joy's - white skates. While walking there quietly I was trying to process exactly what to say to the others. I couldn't tell them what actually happened. What wouldn't they think of me? _

_There was only one person who would – could possibly – understand me. Jamie. For the rest, I would have to come up with something._

_Come up with something, come up with something… I had been looking for the puck and then… and then what? _

_"__Elsa?" Jamie asked shyly. He looked at me, clearly still worried. "Can we talk?"_

_I nodded nervously. Something was wrong; I could see it on his face. Punzie smiled at Jamie's question, winked at me and collected my skates and gave them to me. I took them on and she told me that she would skate over to Flynn and meet up with her parents. They would be leaving in a short while, so I had to be ready within ten minutes. Jamie and I were standing fairly close, none of us saying anything. We caught each other glance at the other. _

_"__I was getting worried about you," he finally said. _

_"__You were?" I asked, not that I didn't see it on his face. _

_I wondered if Jack Frost was hiding in the trees next to us, watching us. I took a glance at the forest, trying to spot a white flash of hair. No such luck. Jamie's voice forced my attention back to him. His cheeks had turned a bit pink, but I wasn't sure if that was because of the cold or because… no._

_"__Uhm, I mean - yeah, I was. What happened in that forest? Did you really need such a long time to find the puck?"_

_"__I…" I mumbled, my eyes flicking towards the trees. Jamie caught my glance and stared in the direction of the forest. _

_"__What is it?"_

_I hesitated. How would he react to this? Would he be happy, somehow confused, would Jack Frost step out of the woods and give him a hug? A wave of questions hit me hard, which almost made me trip. Only one way to find out. _

_"__I…" I looked him in his eyes. "I met Jack Frost."_

_Jamie's eyes widened. "You did what?"_

_I fumbled with my hands. "He's real."_

_Jamie took his hands to his head, processing what he just heard. _

_I tried to make it clear to him a bit faster. "You know… the winter spirit you spoke of," I said eagerly. _

_"__Yeah, I got that," Jamie said, still with his mouth wide open. "You mean he's here?"_

_"__Yes!" I said loudly, "he was in the forest!"_

_Jamie looked into the woods curiously. "I can't believe it." _

_A small silence. His face turned from baffled to over-joyful. _

_He then turned to me with a smile. "I can't BELIEVE it! Of course he's real, and all that time... I thought I was crazy!" _

_I chuckled, simply happy that he so willingly believed me. What happened next took me by surprise however. He took my hands and twirled me around on the ice, closed the short distance between us and gave me a peck on cheek. I blushed furiously, but when he looked at me again, leaning in for a kiss – I froze. _

_He looked at me, at first curiously, then with disappointment. Waves of mixed feelings hit me faster than lightening. _

_"__I… I'm sorry," I stammered. I was in such a mess. Why had I frozen? Did or did I not like him? _

_He looked at me with apologetic eyes. "No, no, Elsa… I should be the one saying sorry," he said, clearly just as baffled as me. _

_I smiled shyly. He was such a gentleman. I gave him a small, nervous hug and said it was fine. I had to make up some sort of excuse. _

_"__It's uh- it's not you, I mean. I'm just… really new to all - ," I said gesturing all around, "- this, you know."_

_"__It's okay," he concluded with one his big smiles. I really hoped he didn't take this the wrong way._

_I was still somewhat shocked when we followed each other back to the other side of the lake. Punzie greeted us with a mischievous grin. I wondered how much she had seen from across the lake._

* * *

So many things had happened that night. I had to tell Anna next day. She would probably interrogate me and force me to say why I didn't let him kiss me. Quite honestly, I had no idea why. Jamie was a great guy, he complimented me and he was… as Merida put it: Perfect for me. I liked him. Then what was wrong? I cursed at myself. I had a strange feeling in my chest.

_I need to sleep. _

Behind my eyelids a picture of Jack Frost appeared. His white hair, his icy blue eyes, his thin figure, and his mischievous smile. I had been really scared when seeing him. Would I see him again? How on earth did all this happen in less than two weeks in America? I chuckled at myself. Only two weeks. I wonder what will happen after six months.

_I seriously need_ _to sleep. _

Was I really just scared to kiss Jamie? Was it because everything here in Burgess was new and confusing to me as I told him, and that the kiss was just too much?

_Come on, why can't I sleep?_

I opened my eyes and sighed deeply. A light – probably street lights - from my window in the room caught my attention. Maybe that was why I couldn't sleep. I would have to close the curtains; I needed the darkness to sleep. When I walked up to the window and looked out into the dark night, a gasp exited my mouth. Bright dancing lights in green and pink greeted me from the sky; they were like scattered clouds. It was magical and entrancing. I caught myself staring at the sky, quietly falling in love with the silent movement of the hypnotizing lights.

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: Oh, I know, for some quite a filler-chapter that was a bit short. (Unless you're a JamiexElsa fan I guess, haha!) So, why do ya'll think the Northern Lights are up? :o**

**Thanks again everyone for your reviews, follows, favs. Keep it up! It's motivating and totally makes me want to write here despite exams. Not that I can stop writing anyway, lol.**

**My favourite Guest: I'm graduating from what in my country borderlines between high school/college. I'll be off to University next year. About what Jack finds interesting with Elsa: I think he sees quite a few resemblances to himself, which is interesting to him. But you are right, not really love at first sight ;)**


	10. Chapter 10 - An Ice Castle

**10. An Ice Castle**

_1. - 3__rd__ person narrator, 2. Elsa Arendal._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_- At the North Pole – _

"The reason why I've gotten you together, guardians – is this!" North pointed with his big hands at the globe of believers.

Tooth, Jack, and Sandy all flew up to investigate the globe, looking for what North was gesturing to, as he didn't mention it himself. Bunny was there too, of course – but he was busy arguing with an elf about the colours of Easter eggs.

North finally pointed more delicately at North America, at the special place where only one light was glowing ten years ago. _Burgess._ Everyone gasped at the sight. Two enormous lights shone from the city mark; the two lights glowing about ten times stronger than the other lights. Jack looked around, brushing his white hair through his hands and landed safely on the ground. Tooth looked at him with concern and asked what the shining lights meant. Everyone shrugged but Jack. He cleared his throat.

He caught everyone's attention by flying up in mid-air again. "Guys, uhm – "

Bunny stopped the discussion about Easter eggs and looked at Jack with suspicious eyes.

"I think I might know why the two lights are so strong," Jack coughed. He flew up to the lights again, pointing at them.

"The two lights represent… Elsa and Jamie."

There was a small silence. The other guardians looked at each other, trying to understand what Jack was telling them.

Tooth was the first to speak. "Jamie… _the_ Jamie Bennett who saved us ten years ago?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed happily. "He believes in me again!"

"But isn't he almost an adult by now?" Bunny asked with his paintbrush pointing at Jack.

North made a knowing look to Sandy who looked back at him with concerned eyes.

"Yeah?" Jack followed up when he noticed North's and Sandy's glances, "is that a bad thing?"

North coughed.

"We don't know what it means, really – do we? It hasn't happened before – adults believing, has it?" Tooth blurted out.

"It has happened before," North said out of the blue.

Everyone looked at him, dazzled. Sandy coughed up some eggnog. A small silence followed in the room. North scratched his beard, settling down on a chair.

"But it was before your time, Jack – it was dark times, dark times," he continued. "Guardians were not as established back then – only me and Sandy. Globe didn't exist."

Jack scratched his head. "I'm not really following you guys." Tooth and Bunny were just as confused as Jack.

"We don't know much from what happened back then," North said silently. "But… there were other spirits back then – _some_ of them still exist today."  
Tooth started clapping excitedly. "Uh oh – the leprechaun?"

North nodded and gave a weak smile. He then turned to look at Jack, who was now back on the ground again, resting on his staff. When North caught his gaze, he concluded his story.

"Other spirits, yes. Winter spirits too. Old Man Winter."

Jack's eyes widened and he almost fell down from the staff he was sitting on. He dodged off the fall, however he still had to move off of it and settle on the ground.

"We don't know a lot about the incident, but we –" North gestured to Sandy and him, "- _believe_ that he was in league with Pitch Black."

Sandy had formed two male figures with his sand on the top of his head. One of them had a clear resemblance to Pitch Black, the other figure was taller and more muscular. Suddenly, a female figure took form in Sandy's dream sand. Everyone came closer to watch as the story unfolded in the sand.

North continued. "It was before your time, Jack. They had somehow found away to make a female adult human believe in them, and somehow cursed her to become evil, secluded, having both powers from Pitch and Winter. She kidnapped a boy, making him cold as her. We didn't have the power to stop it, but a certain friend of his – a girl – somehow had."

Everyone looked at each other. Tooth turned towards North with concern written all over her face.

"What happened to Pitch and Winter?" she asked.

"After that episode, we never say Winter again," North said as the tall figure in Sandy's dream sand disappeared. "But Pitch… well, we continued seeing Pitch as you all know."

There was a silence.

"It didn't take long before a new winter spirit was born," North said pointing at Jack. "A new and a far better one! A future guardian!"

Jack blushed, but it didn't take long for him to plaster a smirk on his face. "And a younger one too," he said.

"His name might have been Old Man Winter, but he actually didn't look too old," North laughed.

Jack laughed as well but it eventually faded. His face became full with concern. "So this was the reason why Pitch wanted to combine my ice with his darkness back then? He said, _what goes together better than cold and dark?"_

North nodded.

Tooth flew over to Jack and padded him on the shoulder. "But you are not Winter, Jack – you're a guardian. It'll never happen."

Everyone nodded. Jack seemed somewhat relieved, eventually his smirk was back and he couldn't help but tease Bunny.

"I feel flattered. Even you nodded, kangaroo."

"Hey, watch it, mate," Bunny warned him with his paintbrush. He was painting his eggs again.

North interrupted their quarrels.

"This situation is different from the one hundreds of years ago," North said. "There are two believers this time, and none of them seem to know Pitch."

Everyone nodded and Tooth sighed, relieved.

"-But," North said, which made Tooth hold her breath again, "that doesn't mean we shouldn't look out for them. We don't really know what could happen if… I don't know… if Pitch showed up."

Jack held one of his hands up, volunteering. "I can do that for now," he smiled. "I still kind of really want to talk with Jamie."

* * *

- Back in Burgess -

I woke up late Sunday, feeling excited for the day. Punzie had made plans for the whole group to meet up at our house to watch movies and hang out. I had already been talking with Jamie about it, unfortunately he wasn't able to come because of a family thing he had to be at in Ontario. I decided to French braid my hair again and wear some comfy American clothes today. I had really started to like them.

It didn't take long for people to arrive. Most of them had not seen our house; so many of them were a little shocked to find it so huge. It was decided that we would head outside as the sun was shining, which made the snow glitter in that very unique way. We went to the backyard and Jim was the first to throw a snowball at Astrid. She paid it back firing to at him at once with both her hands.

"Snow ball fight!" Merida yelled.

Soon everyone was engaged in the battle, laughter, giggles and small screams making quite a lot of noise in the backyard. To the others, it was a great amont of fun, but it made my feet curl up and I had a sudden, terrible flash back from an event I would rather forget.

_Anna and I had been playing in the snow for the first time in what seemed forever. It didn't snow as much in Denmark as in Norway, but when it did - I was so joyful. Nothing compared to the beauty of snow. It had been a long time since we had been laughing this much since the death of our parents. Building snowmen, sliding off the big snow piles, and having snowball fights. Anna didn't aim well because of her age, so I made sure not to dodge all of her shots – she shouldn't feel inferior. It didn't stop me from carefully hitting her a few times, though. Anna was so happy; everything was getting better. _

_What I hadn't noticed however, was the lump of ice in the middle of one certain snow ball. The snowball containing ice hit Anna hard on the side of her head, making her fall backwards in the snow – she was unconscious. I ran towards her as fast as I could, holding her head on my lap._

_"__Anna!"_

_I was panicking._

_"__Henrik, Margi!" I cried for help._

_"__You're okay, Anna. I've got you," I whispered to her, sobbing._

_The house door opened and both Henrik and Margrethe came running out of the house. _

_"__Elsa – what have you done?" Henrik almost squealed._

_"__It was an accident," I tried to explain. _

_Ice. _

_Beautiful, but terrifying. _

I had walked away from the others, my eyes teary from the memory. I found myself in the secluded part of the backyard; a small fence blocking away the area from the garden. If this had been summer, the fence would surround the terrace of the garden. It wasn't visible though. A lot of snow was piled up between the fences. I smiled. _Perfect for building something._ I thought of what I could build… a snowman? _No, I only built snowmen with Anna when we were children. _It had to be something else.

I started to outline a circle in the snow, shaping what would become castle walls. Slowly, but steadily, big spiky towers was formed almost automatically with my hands. I didn't particular like the ordinary square towers of castles usually depicted in film and literature, so I made them round, narrow, and incredibly long. I smiled; I was fairly proud of my not-finished work. _I should become an architect._

"I like the snow castle," a voice said from behind me. My eyes widened and I turned around.

"_Jack Frost,"_ I gasped.

He had a mischievous smile on his face; his head and body were resting on his staff right next to the fence. My panic from our first meet didn't appear. _I must have got used to the fact that I can see him._

"You are not going to run away from me this time, are you?" he smiled.

I shook my head. _No. He isn't dangerous. Otherwise Jamie wouldn't trust him like that. _

"Great." He walked towards my snow castle, investigating it and poking carefully at one of my towers with his staff.

He turned, looking at me questionably. "Why aren't you with the others? They're having a blast – even without my help."

I shrugged, trying to avoid his glance. I hoped he didn't notice what my face read. _I really don't want to talk about it._

He cleared his throat, as he didn't receive an answer from me. "So uhm – do you know where Jamie is? Did you tell him about me?"

I nodded. "Yes, I did, but he's not in Burgess – he's visiting some family in Canada up north this weekend."

The winter spirit with his white hair didn't look too pleased with the answer. After a few moments, he shrugged.

"Are you sure you don't want to join in on the snowball fight?" he asked.

I nodded and he sighed. I continued finishing my snow castle while he just stared at my work, resting – on the top of his staff? How was that even possible? I was a bit distracted by him, but after a couple of minutes I had finished the castle.

"I like it," Jack Frost said again, "it's impressive."

I smiled. I liked it too.

"Yeah, too bad it'll probably disappear before tomorrow with the wind and everything."

"Elsa, you're talking with a winter spirit," he said, moving me aside and making way to the castle. He held out his staff at the castle tower from before again, poking it gently. This time a fresh layer of pale blue frost slowly started covering the castle and I gasped. It was magical. The frost evolved into ice, making the castle far more impenetrable and beautiful than before. Like this, the castle would only disappear if the weather turned warmer. The sight completely dazzled me.

"It's amazing. Thank you, Jack Frost," I said.

"You are welcome – but call me Jack, the Frost thing is too long," he chuckled.

"Jack…" I repeated.

He looked at me with expectant eyes. He probably thought I would say something else after saying his name. When our eyes locked, my thoughts drifted back on our meet in the forest by the lake. Like back then, his eyes entranced me as fast as lightning and made me forget where I was. The moment passed by quickly, but I was sure he noticed it too.

Suddenly and without warning, Punzie appeared from behind the fence looking rather furious.

"Elsa – where were you? At first we thought you needed a break from the snow ball fight, but you never came back, and – oh!"

She looked at the ice castle. "It's beautiful, how did you - ?"

_Oh no. What am I going to say this time?_ I looked around to find Jack, maybe he could give a believable explanation – but he had disappeared. I could hear a chuckle from the bushes. _Thanks for the help, you immature winter spirit. _

"I uhm – I sprinkled the snow castle with cold water, which made it turn to ice," I tried.

Punzie looked at me with disbelieving eyes. She sighed. _What else could explain this ice castle? There could be no other non-magical explanation._

"Anyway, we're heading inside for some hot chocolate – are you coming?"

I nodded. "Just give me a few minutes, I'll be there."

She walked off, waving me goodbye. I looked around, waiting for Jack to come back. Only he didn't. What was even stranger was that all the footprints that he had made in the snow before had vanished. _Strange._ I walked around the castle taking a few last glances at it before heading inside. I had to stop mid-track however, as something was spelled in the snow in front of me.

_Meet me here tomorrow afternoon with Jamie. I really want to see him, and I want to talk with both of you. _

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: I'm baack! That was one hardcore graduation week. Uhm, not so good for the liver. Thank you all for being so very patient! Now I'll reward you for it; I present to you a fairly long chapter I've made! (including a very special start of the chapter.) Thank you everyone for the reviews and follows/favs. How are you liking the fact that things are getting more fantasy-like?**

**I'm very sorry I don't have the time to answer your questions; I have to go to this event now, but I promise you that I will answer them with my next chapter! Keep up the amazing reviews :-)**


	11. Chapter 11 - A Frosty Date

**11. - A Frosty Date**

_Elsa Arendal. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I had texted Jamie to meet up with me a couple of minutes before math. I was really excited to tell him the news about Jack. I knew he was anxious to meet him. I had not wanted to tell him on the phone, so I was really hoping he could make it this afternoon. Mrs. Tremaine was already in the classroom waiting for the students to arrive, so I would have to break the news to him silently. I had found a seat in the back of the room, trying to avoid Tremaine's constant, quite scary glances at me. Jamie arrived in a matter of seconds, taking the seat next to me. He angrily threw his math book on the desk with a stern look on his face. He then sighed and turned to look at me.

"Parents!" He said loudly, "one minute they are happily divorced and not interested in what I like and what I don't, then in a blink of an eye - bam! They agree that I should start doing more sports and less writing."

I drew the conclusion that the family meeting in Canada didn't go too well. _Poor Jamie._

"I'm sorry," I tried, in an attempt to ease him.

"Don't be," he said, suddenly with an apologetic look on his face, "It's just my dad who hasn't visited us in ages suddenly wants his son to come back to the 'real world.'"

"That's harsh," I said quietly. As a small silence followed, I tried to make the conversation have a turn. "You never said you liked to write? I mean, I know you're in creative writing, but..."

"Yeah, I love it actually."

I smiled. We had so much in common. Jamie pulled up a familiar book from his backpack and handed it to me. It was _the Snow Queen._

"Thanks for letting me borrow it," he smiled.

"You should keep it," I said.

"It's _your_ favourite story, of course I shouldn't. Here," he said, putting the book on my desk. I smiled.

Most of the students had arrived in the classroom and I had to come to the actual point. I looked around nervously, making sure nobody was listening.

"I met Jack again," I said with nothing leading up to it.

Jamie didn't seem to quite understand the name reference, and I quickly, but silently repeated it to not embarrass him. "Jack Frost?"

He clasped his hands on his forehead, sighing. "I am so stupid." He sighed again. "But good, you're on first names with him...?"

I smiled to myself for reasons unknown to me. "Yeah, I guess... I am."

He chuckled. "And why is it that I haven't seen him yet, but you have seen him twice?"

"That's the thing," I whispered to him as Tremaine gestured for everyone to pay attention, "he wants to talk to both of us after school at my place."

His face lit up, but he couldn't say anything as Tremaine started speaking. So he did what had become a habit of ours. He handed me a written note.

_I actually promised to help my mum with some shopping for Soph's birthday. I have to come up with an excuse then. _

I sighed at my mistake. I should have asked him on the phone before. I replied on his note.

_Do you have any good excuses? _

As the note was full, he made another one. His lips curved up into a smile as he finished the last word of the sentence.

_We could call it a date? _

I blushed as I saw what he wrote. It wasn't the first excuse that had come to my mind at all, and I wasn't really sure it would work had it been Henrik and Margrethe or Joy and Aiden He was going to persuade, and not his mother. But I would let Jamie be the judge of that. Another thought popped into my mind. Was this going to be a follow-up on the night of the winter festival? My face had turned even more red.

Suddenly and without warning Tremaine stood before us. _Oh no_. She furiously picked up the note, gave an angry look to Jamie, the source of the note, and started to read it. Her lips curved up to a scary, knowingly smirk and she walked back to her desk. Jamie's eyes had turned wide with fear.

_No, no, no, no_.

"Jamie thinks he has a chance with the girl from Denmark," she said coldly, addressing the whole class. I could feel the entire class's eyes on us. I ducked my head. Please, please stop.

"However," Tremaine continued, "I think he has a bigger chance with principal Mufasa."

I could hear a few chuckles in front of us. I wished more than anything that I could be invisible in this moment.

Tremaine gestured for Jamie to leave and go to the principal's office. He took a last look at me, mouthing "_A date_?"

I smiled shyly, thought over it for a second. _It's just an excuse, don't worry._ I nodded to him. He looked content with the answer and happily walked out of the door. There was still an hour left for me to kill in this horrible math class.

* * *

I had mixed feelings about the American school system. Having the same subjects each day and have a genuine focus for every semester was a great way to learn. However, some other social aspects of high school weren't my cup of tea. Like the fact that news spread quicker than lightening. And the news of what happened in math was no exception. As Jamie - who had come back with a lunch detention slip in math - and I were heading directly from math to creative writing, we were met by a stare from the other students already sitting in the room. There were a few whispers in the back of the room and it was fairly awkward since none of our friends were there yet to turn our attention away from them. The muscular guy who at my first day of school had asked if Danes were hot - his name was Gasto - gave a sly wink at me and yelled to us: "Hey princess, if you don't want a date with Jamie, you know it could be just you, me, and my car in a few seconds?"

Jamie seemed to get furious and was just about burst something in return, when the girl sitting next to Gasto laughed: "I get where she's coming from, I wouldn't date such a dork either..."

As Jamie flinched and moved towards them, I stopped him with my hands. He looked at me with hurting eyes; clearly he wanted to say something back to them. I gave him a stern look, a warning. After a few seconds, he sighed.

"You are right, of course. They are not worth it."

I nodded in approval. I didn't really know where it was coming from, but in the heat of the moment I did something that was quite unexpected, especially for me. My hands that were still holding back Jamie, found his hands. At first he looked at me bewildered, he _knew_ it was something I would normally never take the initiative to do. I smiled knowingly at him, turned to Gasto and the girl beside him with my hands locked to Jamie's, and simply said: "I said yes to the date."

That made the two of them silent, which made me quite content. The whole room was quiet and it was in that moment that we saw Merida, Jim, and Jane behind us as we turned around. All of them looked at us with mouths wide open. My hands quickly lost contact with Jamie's. I cleared my throat and blushed furiously.

_What have I just done? This is so unlike me! _

Another thing got me wondering.

_Did I just do that to avenge Jamie or… or did I -_

Something about the last thought made my stomach turn. It was as though it was completely wrong somehow.

Merida's face quickly turned from surprised to a bit sad. She sat down in front of us, while Jim and Jane still had to comprehend what they had seen. Merida's reaction left me wondering again.

_Why is Merida reacting like this? Is she in l… no. She couldn't be. _But I couldn't help but sneak glances at her during class, however she kept her eyes fixed on the table.

* * *

The rest of the day went forth quite awkwardly. Jamie had detention in lunch and sitting next to Merida in both lunch and Vocal Class was heartbreakingly hard as she gently, but coldly brushed away my conversation starters. I had to retreat to my unfortunately well-known isolation from my past for the rest of the day until I could meet up with Jamie after school.

He met me at the school entrance; I had texted him to meet me there and walk back to my place. I had already asked Joy and Aiden yesterday if it'd be okay if he were there. They had just smiled and nodded; Joy had walked out of the room with her hands in the air yelling cheerfully: "She's already bringing a boy…" I hadn't involve Punzie in the plan, although I was certain she knew of 'the date' now.

Jamie and I walked home, mostly in silence. When we were a block from our house, I had to make a point before… well, before he would meet Joy and Aiden coming back from work. I stopped as I caught sight of the mansion-like house. He looked at me curiously.

"Jamie - ?"

"Yeah?"

I fidgeted with my mittens.

"I… I hope you didn't take it the wrong way back in class, you know… when –"

He interrupted me before I could stammer on. "Elsa, don't worry. I know what you did in there was to protect me, and I can pretend there was nothing else to it."

The sudden twist in my stomach from later today came back. "Jamie… I… You know – I'm only here for six months, I don't want to complicate things and the last thing I would ever do was to hurt anyone. Especially you."

"It's okay," he answered. And with that simple answer, I knew that that was what it was. It was okay. Jamie would understand. There was only one thing left.

"Could you maybe talk to Merida about this – you know, this – not being a date? I think she got it the wrong way," I asked.

Jamie looked surprised by this, as though the thought had not even crossed his mind. He nodded after a few moments, clearly thinking through what I had just said. I cleared my throat and asked if he was ready to meet Jack. He nodded eagerly and we headed for the snowy backyard of my home.

* * *

The first thing I showed Jamie was the ice castle. Built by me, perfected by Jack. We had left our school bags on the side of it, not even caring to go inside the house first. A little snow had fallen on the castle, hiding its beauty. I brushed it off while telling Jamie about the second meeting with Jack. With every second he got more excited and after showing him the message that Jack had left that was now almost not-recognizable, he got jumpy.

Thump. A snowball hit him in his stomach from one direction.

Thump. Another one hit him on his arm from another.

Thump. Lastly one hit him in the face, making him giggle in a way I hadn't quite heard before. His laughter was contagious, and even though the snowballs sent hurtful memories flashing back; I somehow didn't care. The only thing I did care about in that moment was to see the source of the snowballs.

"Finally!" A voice rang from right behind us, "You two are FINALLY alone and able to talk." Both of us turned around to see a mischievous smirk plastered to the face of the Winter Spirit. I didn't say a word, but sneaked glances at Jamie. His mouth was hanging open, his eyes wide – and… was that his eyes watering a bit? I couldn't imagine the feelings that went through him. In less than two seconds Jamie was hugging his long lost friend, which made Jack drop his staff. Somehow I could help but smile at that. It all seemed _right_ for these two to know each other. I backed a way a bit, feeling a bit like a third wheel in their bromantic-moment.

_Where do I fit in in all of this? _

When they pulled back, both of their faces were utterly joyful. I think my stare seemed to make things a bit awkward however, because when they both looked at me, their eyes froze and they took a few steps back from each other. Jack nervously picked up his staff. _Boys are boys. Winter Spirit or not._

"You look just like I remember," Jamie said to Jack, finally brushing off the awkward moment.

"It's an immortal thing," Jack shrugged with a smile, but also with a sudden and strange quick side-ways glance at me that left me confused. He continued talking to Jamie: "You look… different. I'm sensing stubbles." Both of them laughed.

I crossed my arms. The two of them were quite adorable together.

They both looked at me again, noticing the fact that I wasn't quite as cheerful as the two of them. Jack cleared his throat. To try and break the awkward silence between the three of us, I started the more serious part of the meeting.

"So… Jack – that message you left me. You said you wanted to talk with us."

"Wauw – that's one serious girl friend you've found yourself there, Bennett," Jack pointed out. I blushed. _Well, I know I am too serious. I was just hoping it wouldn't be the first impression Jack would have of me. Wait – what did he say? No, no, no. _

Jamie still smiled, but his laughter had disappeared. "She is not my girl friend."

Jack eyed both of us suspiciously, but clearly decided to leave it as it was as his smirk went back on his face.

"Alright. Well, if you must know, Elsa-the-far-too-serious-who-most-unfortunately-doesn't-like-snowball-fights… " Jack said stepping a few steps closer to me, "I'm very interested in a story you were telling Jamie about a few weeks ago. It was about a woman… you said she had powers like me?"

That was when realization struck. _Of course. Of course, that was how Jack knew my name at the Winter Festival. He had been seeing us talking with each other before._

"The Snow Queen?" I asked with a curious smile appearing on my face.

* * *

**A/N: Aw, I'm back with a chapter – finally! It has been taking me some time to write it in the summer heat and with the World Cup-craziness, and I'm sorry for that. **

**I think this is my personal favorite chapter so far, and I really hope it's been giving you a few smiles too. I just love how Elsa is getting more brave… she's going to need it in a few chapter's time! (Forewarning, OH MY!)**

**Now, questions: **

**My favourite guest: You have so many questions, it's great! Why the lights shine so brightly: This will not be further explained in the story, so I thought I would explain. The lights simply shine so brightly because Jamie an Elsa are (almost) adults, which of course would outshine the other lights in the globe of believers belonging to the guardians of ****_childhood._**** Hope it made sense. **

**Guest: Ooh I'm sorry I disappointed you with the missing kiss! I promise you there will be a kiss! Soon!**

**Please continue with the lovely reviews. It makes my day and summer a lot better.**


	12. Chapter 12 - About Guardians

**Chapter 12 – About Guardians, The Snow Queen and the semi-formal**

_Jamie Bennett. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Elsa had asked Jack to follow us into the nearby forest. It was a few hundred yards away from our house; we took the walk because her host parents came home soon and she was afraid it would look suspicious if they saw us talk with 'no one.' Elsa had then started to explain _the Snow Queen_ to Jack. He had looked very thoughtful while listening to the story, at some points saying 'ah I see' or 'oh really.' He had not yet explained to us why he was so interested in the story, which was bothering me. Elsa told of the kidnapping of Kai, Gerda's heroic adventure to find him and how she met robbers and talking flowers. She told of how Gerda saved Kai by crying tears of love that melted his heart. Elsa had come to the final point in the story where Kai and Gerda flee the ice castle. When she had finished her long recap of the story, Jack kept quiet as though he was waiting for something else to be told. When she didn't say anything more and a quite awkward silence followed, Jack started bombarding us with questions.

"Do you know what happened to the queen? More relevant, does the story say something about how she got her powers?"

Elsa shook her head. "No, there are some missing points in the story. It doesn't say what happened to her, and I assumed she was born with them?"

I walked up to Jack and looked at him concerned. "Why are you so keen to know more about this story?"

Jack ran a few fingers through his white hair.

"I'm not sure you would believe me."

I grinned. "We believe in a 300-year-old winter spirit who is standing right in front of us. What's the point in not believing, honestly?"

Jack laughed with his far too familiar laugh that came so easily to him. Just like I remembered him.

He looked at me with a smile and nodded. "That's true."

"Well?" I asked him.

His face grew serious and he cleared his throat, looking warily at Elsa.

"Uhm, you see - I don't think it was just a story."

Elsa's eyes grew wide and she looked empty for words. Nevertheless, she still managed to ask the next question, looking somewhat for confirmation of what she had just heard.

"The Snow Queen actually lived once?"

Jack nodded. "That is what North told me."

"Who is North?" Elsa asked quickly.

Jack looked at me strangely, probably expecting that I had told Elsa about the rest of the guardians. I hadn't really; it just hadn't come to my mind - Jack had actually been the only guardian I remembered. But with Jack mentioning him, all the memories of the other guardians came to my mind in a blink of an eye.

"He's a guardian of childhood, just like me," Jack said proudly. "And just like the Sand Man, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, he protects and cherishes the hopes, wonders, and dreams of the children. But you might simply know him by name as-"

"Santa Claus! Of course!" Elsa finished with a high-pitched voice.

Again, her eyes were wide. Slowly a smile appeared on her lips. I remembered she had told me at one point that when she was small she was completely certain that Santa Clause existed. It wasn't a smile I saw often, but it was the most tender and sincere smile I had ever seen on a living person. I knew something deep within her usually kept that smile hidden, but I also knew that it was probably unwise to ask her about it. I was somewhat afraid of how she would react. I looked over at Jack, who was looking at her bemused reaction with a grin. It must come naturally to him, I thought, making her smile and laugh - something about being the guardian of fun and all that. It wasn't as easy for me.

"Anyways," Jack continued, "North didn't actually call the icy woman he mentioned for Snow Queen, but that's the first thing I thought of when they told me. I just needed to know if I was correct. It seems like it."

"But why is this so important for you to know of this? If not from a story; then it's still just something from the past, isn't it?" Elsa asked curiously.

Jack looked at her with a smirk, maybe it was an impressed smile caused by her clever questions. I knew I was impressed. This whole situation seemed so strange to me, but Elsa just went along.

"Well - because of you two," Jack said calmly.

"What?" I asked.

"The last time a mortal of your age believed in spirits like us and it was noted, was well... I think the person who believed was the Snow Queen."

Elsa and I looked at each other.

"But how - ?" Elsa asked Jack.

It was strange, but Jack seemed to know the answer of the open question that Elsa had asked. He simply finished her sentence.

"You wonder how she - a mortal - got her snow powers. Well it was before I became - uhm, Jack Frost, so I personally don't know. But North and Sandy are convinced it was Pitch Black, the spirit of Nightmares, the boogeyman -" Jack looked at Elsa, making sure she was following what he said, "and another winter spirit, Old Man Winter, who corrupted her and made her evil."

The thought of Pitch Black brought back the final missing memories of my encounter with the guardians ten years ago and it sent shivers down my spine.

"I remember Pitch Black," I said solemnly.

Elsa looked at me surprised, however still asked another clever question. "I thought you were the only winter spirit? And how come they are evil?"

Jack swung his staff randomly around. "Pitch Black feeds on children's fear and disbelief in the guardians," Jack explained while looking at me. "Jamie helped us defeat him ten years ago."

All memories had come back to me now. Elsa made a shy smile and padded me on the shoulder.

Jack continued answering Elsa's questions. "About being the only winter spirit... As I told you, the Snow Queen lived before I became, well - me. Only logical thing would be to have another winter spirit back then. The thing is - nobody has seen him since the story took place."

A silence followed his last words before I dared to ask another question. "So you think he's dead?"

Jack shrugged. "I've never actually heard of a dead spirit. Even though Pitch Black was defeated ten years ago, he's still there somewhere - weak, but existing."

Elsa came closer to him. "So you think the uhm... other winter spirit is out there somewhere?"

Somewhere from a tree not too far away a crow called, which made all of us quiet for a little moment.

After a little while, Jack nodded. "I just really want to know that you two are safe from them. That's why I asked you about the story. I thought it might give a few hints perhaps... so I could look for Old Man Winter."

Elsa smiled at that. "I'm not really sure I can give you more hints by telling the story to you. I should show you the book," she suggested. She took off her backpack, leaned it against an old tree and took out the book she once gave me.

I decided that I didn't need to be here to hear the story once again. I had another place I had to be today.

"I'll talk with Merida now then. To make sure she's OK. And -" I looked at Elsa, "to make sure you two are good again."

Elsa gave me a thankful nod and a quick hug before I left her with Jack. I waved Jack goodbye and yelled that he better make his way to visit me soon. I had only walked a few steps away from them when I heard a soft chuckle coming from Elsa. _The magic of the Guardian of Fun._

* * *

I walked towards Merida's house. My mother would still think I was with Elsa, perhaps that we've gone to town to get something to eat. That idea was a lot better than what I was about to do. If only it had been what was actually happening tonight. But Elsa had told me Merida was acting strangely today because of the 'date', and I wasn't a person really liking any conflicts between any of my friends. I hated drama. Especially when it - surprisingly - concerned Merida. Merida had been my friend for the longest of times and although we were so utterly different, we always had the best of laughs together. I was not going to change that because of Elsa - or Jack for the matter. Because as Elsa had told me; she was only here for six months.

But even though I had only known her for a few weeks, I knew already that that future goodbye would sting. I just wished she could see that - I wished she could see that there were no reasons to not take a risk. Somewhere inside of me, a negative thought appeared. Maybe she's not actually afraid of taking a risk. Maybe she just doesn't like me in that way. I had to reassure myself of the opposite. All her reactions towards me - save the missing kiss - pointed in the opposite direction. God, why is she so complicated?

_Why are girls so complicated?_ Merida was so different usually; not complicated at all, unless perhaps today. I came to the front door of her house; it was quite a big one with a red roof covered in snow and yellow bricks. Inside and outside of it, Merida and I had been planning the most devious of things when we were smaller. I rang the doorbell. In less than a minute, Zane stood in the door.

"Jamie?" He asked with a surprised voice, "no date with Elsa?"

_Ah, so he had heard too._ I looked down at the snowcovered ground, "no not right now. I was actually wondering where I could find Merida?"

Zane smiled. It was amazing how much English he had caught on to in a matter of a few weeks.

"Practice in backyard," he said pointing towards the backyard that you could reach by walking past the house.

"Thanks man."

Merida was upset. Only if she was upset she would be practicing archery in the backyard in the winter. The problem was the fingers - they became numb while working in the cold without mittens. I slowly walked past the house. I was careful not to make a sound. Merida was standing sideways with the bow outstretched and holding an arrow in the middle of it. Her long, curly red hair blew silently in the winter wind. Her eyes were narrowed, focused on the round target in front of her. I had always admired her - especially when she stood like that; stern, focused on the target and right in the moment. It wasn't a long time ago that I looked at her as more than my best friend, but she had seemed completely oblivious to my shy attempts at making her see that. So those feelings eventually faded. But seeing her like this, it almost came back to me. Her right - somewhat pale blue - hand left the arrow and it hurled towards the target circle where two other arrows already had found their place. An exact hit in the middle. I smiled - Merida was truly amazing at archery. I decided now was the right time for me to say something, so I said: "Let me get them for you," as I walked to the target without looking at her. Merida always shot three times before collecting her arrows.

"Jamie?" She asked confused as she saw me, "weren't you supposed to -?"

I looked at her, smiling. "That's what you all thought. But no. It was just an excuse for me to not go shopping with my mum."

Okay, so that was only a third of the truth. I took the arrows out of the target, one by one.

She grimaced. "Strange excuse."

I walked over to stand at her side, handed her the arrows and she readied one of them on the bow. Her eyes narrowed, she was in her focused state again.

"Look," I said steadily, "it wasn't actually a date. Elsa and I had - uhm - something we wanted to see, something I wanted to see for a long time. I hope it didn't upset you."

She released the arrow, this time it completely missed its target. She sighed and looked at me with a stern face.

"Whatever you say, Jamie."

She really was upset. It was quite clear to me.

"Merida - if there's anything wrong, please just -"

She interrupted me by taking another arrow from my hand, laying it on the bow and releasing it quickly. This time it hit the target, however it was still far from the inner circle. She sighed again.

"It's just," she said looking sideways at me again, putting the bow down in the snow and blowing some hot air in her hands with her mouth, "We're never together just the two of us anymore. We're always with the others or you're always with Elsa..."

I gulped. It was true. We hadn't even been texting each other since Elsa came here. She was right. I had let my best friend down. I was afraid she was upset because... Well, maybe I over-analyzed what Elsa had said, but I was afraid she was starting to like me... in that way.

Now I needed to prove that I was there for her no matter what.

"I'm sorry, Merida."

She looked at me again, her stern face softening. An idea popped up in my head. _Yes. That will make her happy again._

"Let's go the semi-formal together on Friday - like we always did back in middle school."

She grinned. "Jamie, you know I -"

"- hate dances, yes," I interrupted her. "It'll be fun, I swear. We'll surprise everyone by being there. Besides, I think the rest off the group is going anyway."

Merida thought about it. "We _never _go to any dances. We haven't even asked the others –"

"Come ooon," I pleaded her. "I'll even come pick you up?"

She sighed, but a sudden chuckle followed it.

"Do I need to wear a dress?"

"No," I simply laughed. But I knew what that answer meant, so I pulled her in for a long hug.

"Best friends?" I asked while twisting a red ringlet hair of hers.

She didn't answer for some time, but I could eventually feel her nod at my shoulder.

* * *

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**A/N: LATE is the hour that this chapter have come. Well – a couple of friends and I decided to watch the World Cup Final in Germany (which was a lot of fun) and we had no internet for our little vacation. So the next couple of chapters have been typed on an iPhone (yes, it took a lot of time – hard work!) That also means that the next chapter will be up in a matter of only a day or two, since it's almost finished! Aaaarh and that will be the longest chapter as of yet. It's counting 4000 words already… AND OH, THE FLUFF AND EXCITEMENT OF THAT CHAPTER. **

**For the (some concerned) questions asking if it's a jamiexelsa or a jackxelsa fic, please PM me and I will answer! I can totally relate to the fact that it can be heartbreaking to read if you are on a 'certain team', but I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who are looking forward to the surprise :) I promise you; there shall be a pairing, this love triangle will not continue on forever! **

**DragonHeart64: oh you have some creative theories! I love the fact that you remember those loop holes from the original snow queen too! Kudos - you're getting closer, but you are not quite there yet :-) **

**My favourite Guest: Yes, you are right – I think Jamie came to the date-excuse quickly for a reason too ;) You asked if there'd be either romance or more action in this story! I can happily say; BOTH! Though the action will wait a tiny little bit… But it will get there. **

**Thank you everyone for the follows, favs, reviews! I can't believe that so many people have actually tuned in to this story!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Poetry from the Past

**Hey! I know - I usually do not have an A/N in the beginning, but something has happened that changed the direction of this story - my computer blacked out and all my saved files from the last 20 days have not been backed up. That includes chapter 13,14 and the epilogue chapter I had already been working on to "know exactly where the story was going." I was juust about to cry (heck I did) but then I decided I should seize the opportunity to change a few of my plans because I have got so many other great ideas. But do not worry; the most important things haven't been neglected. So! This is a re-evaluated chapter 13 :-) Long and… should contain a nice little ending. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**13. – Poetry from the Past**

_Elsa Arendal_**_._**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Elsa? I know you don't like snowball fights, but this... come on," Jack pleaded.

I leaned towards the tree trunk looking up at Jack who was already situated in the tree on one of those big branches that several people would be able to sit on. Apparently, it wasn't the best to read a story out loud on the ground. I didn't get it.

"Jack - uhm... The ground seems fine to me really, I don't think I need to - "

Jack hovered down to the ground and offered his hands to pull me up.

"Come on it'll be great," he said with a smirk.

I looked at him sceptical. I was really not interested in slipping on one of the snowy branches. Ice and snow would always find a way to hurt you...

"Jack, really -"

"Do you trust me?" He insisted while gesturing to his hands that could lift me up.

His eyes caught mine in the way it had happened twice before; blue on blue. I found myself smiling at his grin, and before I could ponder exactly why I did that, he had concluded that the smile was a yes. He took my right hand and quickly lifted me in the air which caused a small gasp and scream to exit my mouth. Before I knew it, I was sitting on a large branch with my back next to the trunk, facing Jack. From up here - about three metres in the air - there was an amazing view and I could even see the balcony of my room from up here. Somehow the whole situation just made me chuckle.

"It's nice up here, don't you think?" Jack asked while looking at me expectantly.

I grinned and pointed at my house. "Well I would be able to see even more from my balcony..." I teased.

"Wouldn't be as fun," Jack insisted.

"That's true."

With those words, Jack smiled. He didn't grin or give one of his usual smirks, no - this was a sincere smile. A little silence followed, and I took out the book from my backpack again and laid it in the middle of us on the branch. Jack took it and skimmed the pages, always making a little stop at the illustrations. He made a full stop at the exact same illustration - the Snow Queen with the white hair picking up Kai - that I showed to Jamie some time ago.

"This - this is the Snow Queen?" He asked pointing at the picture.

I nodded and leaned over to look more closely at the illustration. Pale blue eyes, fair complexion, snowflakes glittering around her.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Jack looked from the book to me, suddenly with his head not to far from me. He nodded."Well she looks like you."

My cheeks burned red at the comment and I chuckled shyly. "Jamie said the exact same thing."

I could sense that something about that sentence somehow troubled Jack as he looked away for a few seconds. I wasn't really sure how I could ask what bothered him, so I stayed quiet. Eventually he turned to face me again and skimmed through the rest of the book. As he reached the end of it he pulled up a small folded note from the book.

"What's this?" He asked me curiously.

"Uhm - I don't know, maybe the receipt for the book," I said shrugging my shoulders. He handed it to me and I carefully opened it. It definitely wasn't a receipt. It was a written note and letter.

_Høit ligger paa Marken den hvide Snee, _

_Dog kan man Lyset i Hytten see; _

_Der venter Pigen ved Lampens Skjær _

_Paa sin Hjertenskjær._

_Han synger omkap med den skarpe Vind, _

_Der rødmer saa smukt hans sunde Kind. _

_Snee-Kongen rider paa sorten Sky _

_Over Mark og By_

_"Du er mig saa smuk ved Snee-Lysets Skjær, _

_Jeg kaarer Dig til min Hjertenskjær, _

_Kom, følg mig høit paa min svømmende Ø, _

_Over Bjerg og Sø!"_

_- __Dear Sis. I hope the book brings you luck. I know you like the cold - but put some clothes on to keep yourself warm. Love might heat up too. XXX_

Anna. My sweet, sweet sister. You remember. My eyes reddened a little and a small tear fell down my cheek as I smiled melancholy.

"Hey now," Jack said warmly while tenderly brushing the tear away with his thumb. His finger felt cold against my skin, but not to the point that it would ever bother me. I smiled up at him.

"It's a letter and poem from my sister."

Jack moved closer, gesturing to tell me what it said.

"The poem is written by Hans Christian Andersen - the author of the Snow Queen - in old-Danish... and it's really beautiful."

"Really?" Jack said in an interested manner. I was surprised by that, I had thought he would find it too dull. He laid his staff in his lap and cupped his head in his hands that rested on his laps as well; ready to listen.

"I could try translating it for you if you would like... But it won't rhyme and it won't do the poem any justice I'm afraid."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure you'll do good."

I felt my cheeks redden and started to read.

_The snow on the field lies high_

_but you can see the light from the cottage_

_There the girl waits at the Lamp's glare_

_for her beloved._

_He sings and races the sharp wind_

_which reddens his healthy cheek so beautifully_

_The Snow King rides on the black cloud_

_over field and town._

_"__You are so beautiful at the Snow-light's glare_

_I announce you to be my only beloved_

_Come, follow me on my swimming island_

_over mountain and lake!" _

After I had read it, Jack didn't hesitate to ask me questions.

"Elsa. Do you think this - uh, about this poem, do you think this person - the Snow King I mean - do you think the author means that it is Old Man Winter? I mean, the way he flies and the snow and that stuff."

To be honest, I had not ever given this a thought. I just thought it was a random romantic poem spiced with a pinch of magic.

"But why would it be romantic then?" I asked curiously.

Jack let his legs hang down from the tree again and sighed.

"I don't know," he admitted. He sighed once again.

I tried to think everything over again.

"Well maybe it was Old Man Winter who seduced her to make her evil?"

Jack shrugged. "Maybe. It's the only clue we've got."

"Well, it's one out of two."

Jack looked at me curiously.

"I think I would look for Old Man Winter in Scandinavia," I said.

Jack was surprised. "Why? – Isn't that where you are from, Elsa?"

"Yeah, I am… I'm not sure – but if this poem and the Snow Queen were connected, I would say it's ideal to look for him in Denmark, Norway or perhaps Sweden. Hans Christian Andersen is from Denmark and some places and people from the Snow Queen kind of resembles places in northern Norway."

Jack smiled. "You're a genius. Do you know that?"

I couldn't help but return his smile, my face turning red. He pulled me in for a hug, but before I could notice what was happening around me, he took my mittens in his hands and flew me down the tree.

"I promise I'll be back Friday evening - tell Jamie, will you?" he asked.

"You'll look for Old Man Winter?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll give Scandinavia a try." He laid his hands on my shoulders, which made my stomach feel quite queasy. "Make sure you stay away from the shadows in the mean time. And try not to have any nightmares."

_Not have any nightmares? How is that possible to control?_

"Jack – "

But Jack hadn't finished. "Look out for yourself. I don't want to see you get hurt."

And with that, he flew away with the wind.

* * *

Falling asleep that night turned out to be harder than I thought. I tried remembering all bits and pieces of the snow Queen from the story and made it connect to the poem and Old Man Winter and Pitch Black... But it didn't add up somehow. For starters, how were Old Man Winter and Pitch a black able to turn a human being evil? Was it a combined force of theirs? Second, I had an aching feeling in my stomach about the whole affair. Could it be a coincidence that the Snow Queen was my favorite story of all time? My thoughts then drifted towards Jamie and Merida, hoping that their conversation today went fine and that Merida would talk to me again. I didn't want to the the one causing any damage to their friendship. No matter if I liked Jamie or not - which I still wasn't sure of. I would know how Merida was feeling tomorrow at school. But the real reason why I couldn't sleep was because the face of Jack appeared on my mind with his shock of white hair, his grin, but most of all his eyes. Of all of things, his eyes haunted me and made me refuse to sleep. In those eyes, I saw everything. I saw my new friends, I saw snow and children chuckling, I saw Jamie, I saw my host family, I saw Henrik and Margrethe and a quick memory of my parents, and lastly I saw Anna writing the note that she carefully put in the book she shipped over. And at that point, I started sobbing quietly in my bed. It must have been around three in the morning and I simply couldn't help myself.

Anna. I miss you.

* * *

"So what do we do?" Merida asked me shyly after Mrs. Triton had asked up to divide ourselves into pairs Tuesday afternoon. I had not talked with her since the awkward conversations yesterday.

I looked at her; surprised that she talked to me, and more surprisingly – chose me as a partner. _Jamie must have had a good talk with her yesterday._

"I – I don't know," I admitted. For vocal class, we were now appointed to sing a song – a duet – in front of everyone this Friday. I was surprised that Merida had taken the initiative to talk with me first. But I decided that it was better if I just pretended like nothing happened yesterday and simply small talked; it was the best way to avoid awkwardness.

"Would be nice if we didn't have to sing without any accompaniment. But I don't play any instruments," I finally said.

Merida looked at me with a sincere smile. "But I do."

"You do?" I asked, perhaps with a fair bit too much of surprise in my voice.

"The Bow String isn't the only string I play. I like to play six strings too – more specifically guitar."

_Merida surprises me all the time. She is amazing. _

"That's great. Then we uh- just need to pick a song, don't we?" I asked.

Merida scooped her desk and chair over to mine.

"Yeah. What kind of music do you listen to? I remember you sang that song in Vocal class – what was it called…?"

"Snow Brigade," I finished.

She clasped her hands. "That's right."

"Do you want to sing it?" I asked.

Merida shook her head. "If the performance is supposed to be a duet, then I'm afraid it's too difficult for me. Not my range at all and besides, there are no fun harmonies for a duet in it. But it was more the genre I was going for. You like that type of music, right?"

I nodded. "I like a lot of music genres. From big diva songs to electronic rock to alternative folk music to – "

"Folk music!" Merida almost yelled excitedly. "They have the best harmonies!"

"Let's do that then," I shrugged. To me, any genre would be good, but it would make me most happy if Merida was excited about what we were singing too.

"Do you have any good suggestions?" Merida asked.

I thought about it. I knew many great folk bands. But only a few with harmonies that I _adored._

"Do you know Fleet Foxes?"

Merida's eyes went wide. "I _love _Fleet Foxes."

"Helplessness Blues?" I asked.

"The album or the song?"

This time my eyes went wide. Not many people our age actually knew of this band. And especially not people who I suspected were jocks. _I'll remember never to judge a person on that kind of premise again._ "The song."

"It's perfect," Merida exclaimed happily. "I'll bring my guitar tomorrow and until Friday so we can practice here. Until then – let's try arranging the verses and chorus between us."

We wrote down the lyrics and decided that I should sing the lead in the verses and Merida would do the harmony; the opposite in the choruses. While discussing and arranging, things had started to loosen up between us and the awkwardness had disappeared. Merida even asked if I wanted to go dress shopping for the semi-formal on friday with her; which I gladly accepted. She was nervous because she didn't ever wear dresses. _Unlike me._ Therefore she thought I could give her some advice. As she nervously told me that Jamie would take her to the semi-formal; I was happy for her. _That was how Jamie made her glad again._

* * *

"Best way to get to know each other better is to know our secrets," Punzie said with a mischievous smile. We were sitting in Jim's basement with a few wine bottles and liquor in the middle of a round table that we were all sitting around; his parents weren't home this weekend and I - for starters - hadn't thought there would be alcohol involved in the pre-party before the semi-formal. It seemed like an idea that came from Jim and Astrid. At first, I had said no to the drinks, but eventually I decided to join in on "the fun" though it wasn't allowed for an exchange student, or for any of the others really. I had been drinking legally in Denmark before my exchange - really just a few glasses of wine together with my host parents, I didn't participate in any parties before - so I was convinced that I could handle it. What could possibly go wrong?

"The nastiest, creepiest, most exciting secrets deserves drinks to the owner of the secret," Astrid added as a rule which made Punzie's eyes wide - it was a twist in the game that she had not thought of.

"Come on - really?" Jamie complained.

"Sounds gross," Merida added.

"That's the fun thing," Jim insisted. "Come on, I'll start. This secret is kinda nasty. I once ate an old snickers bar that I found on a bench," Jim laughed. When there was a few 'eew's he pointed out that he was, in fact, seven years old at the time and that he was genuinely hungry. This argument didn't help him much, since people around the table still laughed about it.

"Doesn't that qualify for a drink?" Merida asked. Everyone agreed.

_That is a lame secret._

I could start to feel the alcohol in my body. It started with a little twirl in my knee and it slowly heated my body up to a point that was a bit too much. It made my stomach feel good and a strange grin appeared on my face.

"Okay - let's see. It's Jane's turn," Astrid directed.

"Hm," she thought deeply. "A secret... A secret. Don't tell my dad about this OK? But I've been thinking about perhaps doing volunteer work in South Africa next year."

"Sure, 'volunteer work'," Flynn scowled and looked mischievously at Zane.

"Doesn't qualify for a drink, does it?" Astrid asked. Everyone shook their heads.

_I have a better secret._

"Your turn Punzie," Astrid pointed.

Punzie first looked up and then stared down at her cup of liquor. I could sympathize with my host sister's feelings at the moment. We had both had enough to drink for this evening.

"My ugly old babysitter once tried to kidnap me," she said.

"What?!" Flynn exclaimed looking horrified at his girlfriend.

"It was a long time ago," she said quietly and kissed him on the nose.

The alcohol had now risen to my head and things were more blurry on the distance than usual.

"That's sick," Jim said playing with his strange ponytail. "Drink?"

Everyone nodded.

_My secret is bigger._

Punzie stared down at her drink with a pretending-to-be-sad smile and then drank the whole thing.

I have the biggest secret.

"Who's up now?" Astrid asked.

"My great-great-great-grandfather was a king," I blurted out suddenly. As soon as it came out, my eyes widened in shock and my hands flew to my lips. _Shit._ I had really been drinking too much. I wasn't supposed to say that. I didn't want them to think of me differently.

The room went completely silent until Punzie drunkenly asked me: "Are you freaking kidding me?"

As the alcohol made it impossible to conceal the truth for me, I couldn't just laugh it off. Instead, I was frozen to the seat - unable to move, my hands still on my lips and with my eyes still wide open. Never. Drink. Again.

"What?" Jamie asked in disbelief.

"It is true," Jane whispered while looking intently at me, probably analyzing my facial expression.

The table was completely silent. Only one could break that silence.

"So what do we call you? Princess Elsa?" Astrid mocked.

That worked as a comic relief and everyone laughed, including me._ Okay... so apparently it wasn't an issue really._

"Your majesty perhaps?" Merida chimed in.

"Royal highness?"

"Uh it's like the Prince and Me," Punzie started rambling, "just with a princess. Jamie is the American and you are the Danish foreign exchange student incognito pri-"

"- princess who is late," Jane while looking at her watch. "Guys it is 7:20, doors close at 7:30 PM - we should hurry. Do you have mints ready?"

"Ay, sir!" Punzie laughed.

She handed out spearmints for all of us to remove the smell of liquor and we hurried out the door.

* * *

I had become tired and dizzy of the dancing and the fading effect the alcohol - but most of all the exhausting heat in the gym. So I made the decision to walk outside in the schoolyard to cool off by myself. I didn't mind being a bit on my own from time to time, as long as it never turned back to my isolation from back home. I took off my high heels and made my bare feet feel the cold comfort of the snow; my hair was let loose from it's pins and I let the platinum waves drop down on my bare back. My dress glistened in the moonlight. I walked slowly to the fountain of the school in the middle of the yard that was illuminated by small electric lights.

"Wow, Elsa you look... different," someone said from somewhere behind me. I recognized the voice immediately and I turned around with a big smile on my face.

"I mean - in a good way," Jack Frost continued as he approached me with his staff on his shoulder. My cheeks were burning red. His white hair was glowing in the moonlight together with the snow around us. Lights lit up the bare, snow covered trees in the yard.

"You're here."

"Well I promised, didn't I?"

I chuckled slightly. "You did."

"I always keep my promises."

_Of course you do. You are a guardian._

Jack took a few steps closer to me.

"Jamie?" He asked looking for his newly reconciled friend.

I pointed towards the gym. "Inside, surprisingly having a blast."

"Oh."

"Did you find anything - did you find Winter?"

He shook his head. "Well, no... But -"

Jack took out the poem I had read out loud to him in the beginning of the week from the pocket in his frosty blue sweater.

"I found this poem again in an old town in Northern Norway. It was recently placed there since the paper was intact and... And it was on a very old graveyard from the 1700's of a young unknown girl together with frost covered lilies," Jack explained, clearly trying to remember the details of the scene.

A nerve-wracking feeling hit me.

"Northern Norway? What is the town name - my family is from that area, but we moved to Denmark later on."

"Really?"

I nodded but had a strange twist in my stomach. It all seemed so coincidental somehow. How was it possible?

"It was in a town called Arendelle in English. I think the locals call it Arendal."

My eyes went wide and a huge realization hit me.

"It's my birth town."

Jack's eyes went wide too.

"Elsa do you think -"

"I'm scared, Jack," I said, suddenly shaking and very afraid. Jack hurried over and pulled me in for a long hug.

"Oh god - what if the girl's grave was the grave of the Snow Queen... What if - what if Old Man Winter will do the same to me as he did to that girl!"

Jack quickly stopped my concerns. "Elsa, I would never let them do that to you," he comfortingly said.

I knew that. I felt safe with Jack. I nodded in his shoulder. As we slowly pulled apart, he still had his hands protectively on my shoulders and he looked me deep into my eyes. Our foreheads almost collided.

"Never."

With that word and with his eyes as blue as the sky without clouds, something clicked in me. I wasn't sure if it was the effect of the fading alcohol or the moment, though it definitely felt like the latter. My right hand found his ice cold cheek and I closed the narrow space between us, my lips met his - soft as freshly fallen snow - and for that little moment, everything in the world stood still.

* * *

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**Oh my gaaawd! To some's surprise: JELSAAAAA! Others might have been waiting for this!**

**I hope I haven't offended anyone by adding a few scenes with alcohol. It's rated T, after all – and it's pretty innocent. It just works as a catalyst for some romance to bloom :-) Alas, the reviews and questions! **

**DragonHeart64: Ahh you are sooo close, but still not quite there yet. But you definitely 'get' the feel of where this story is going. I love your observations on Jack. To me, it is his personality that makes him the Guardian of Fun, not the magic. And you are completely right, it is as though Jamie hasn't quite caught on to that yet. **

**My favourite Guest: Yes – a long distance relationship is hard, but can work. (You are being answered by an expert with a boyfriend overseas.) It's tough… but taking the risk is worth it. I think. But that's just my opinion. I love the fact that you notice the irony of Merida and Jamie's situation. I find this situation between friends so common and relatable… it's like… sheeesh just tell her/him that you like him/her and get it over with. Third excuse was indeed that he wanted it to have been a real date. And yes! I can't help but to sympathize with Merida either. She's so cute and a fun character to write.**

**Also a great thanks to Smiley face, FrozenFantastic and FisherOfMen. ! As per usual, I want to say thank you all for the support in the form of follows, favs, and reviews.  
**

**By the way; the poem used in this chapter was indeed written by Hans Christian Andersen, only I've changed a few words of it to make it fit the story. The original poem is called 'The Snow Queen', and is about a queen seducing a man, not a King seducing a girl. **


	14. Chapter 14 - A Friday to Remember

**14. - A Friday to Remember **

_Jamie Bennett. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Some hours before the last events of the last chapter _(I_=Elsa sings lead, **B**=Merida sings lead)

Merida and Elsa had told me they would be performing a song together in their vocal class and luckily my social science class was cancelled for the week because of mandatory volunteer work that I had already finished, so I had asked if it'd be okay that I came to hear them both in class. It seemed they had both made up with one another, which was top priority to me. When Merida heard this, she started swearing and cursing.

_"_Jamie – you _don't_ want to hear us – me – sing. It's not pretty."

"And why is it that I have never actually heard you sing? I knew only a little about the guitar… Elsa told me you were great at singing too."

Her face had turned as red as her hair by this comment.

"Not as good as her."

I was really determined to hear the duo sing however, since both of them had talked so much about the other's voice. So as I sat down between the rest of their class in the auditorium, a smile was very evident on my face. The teacher had arranged that they were the last ones to perform, so I had to wait quite some time until they could walk up on the stage. Merida sat on a chair to balance the guitar and Elsa stood beside her. After the first string was struck, I was mesmerized. Elsa started out singing with a fragile, but beautiful voice that slowly and steadily became stronger and stronger, became a powerhouse. It was beautiful.

_I was raised up believing I was somehow unique_

_Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see_

_And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be_

_A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me_

It was when Merida joined in on the singing that I knew exactly why things had changed for the better between the two of them over the week. Their voices melted together in perfect harmony that completely left me taken aback. Elsa had the most dominant and strong voice, but in the chorus she let Merida take the lead, which she performed beautifully. Merida looked as focused and beautiful when she sang as when she did archery; and even though she would never admit it, I could _tell_ that she was enjoying herself while singing.

**But I don't, I don't know what that will be**

**I'll get back to you someday soon you will see**

_What's my name, what's my station, oh, just tell me what I should do_

_I don't need to be kind to the armies of night that would do such injustice to you_

_Or bow down and be grateful and say "sure, take all that you see"_

_To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls and determine my future for me_

**And I don't, I don't know who to believe**

**I'll get back to you someday soon you will see**

_If I know only one thing, it's that everything that I see_

_Of the world outside is so inconceivable often I barely can speak_

_Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself_

_What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?_

**And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf**

**I'll come back to you someday soon myself**

In the middle of the roar of applause, a flicker of blue and white among the snow outside the open window caught my left eye.

_Was that… was he back? Elsa had told me he wouldn't be back before this evening._

As I couldn't see any other evidence of Jack Frost in the window, I decided to shrug off whatever I was thinking and turned my attention towards Merida and Elsa who came back with goofy smiles on their faces.

"You guys! You are amazing!"

"I… I actually loved it," Merida admitted.

Their teacher, Mrs. Triton, came over to us after the class had finished and poked Elsa on the shoulder, but addressed both of the girls.

"Excellent performance, both of you. I didn't know you were so talented with the guitar, Merida," she said. She then turned her attention towards Elsa. "Elsa – if I may talk with you in private."

Elsa nodded and they walked over to the other corner of the auditorium.

"Ms. O'Hara and I were wondering if you'd be interested in combining your talents…"

Both Merida and I curiously looked over there, but failed to hear what they were talking about since the other students were making too many noises while exiting the auditorium. The only thing I could see, however, was that Mrs. Triton was asking many questions and that Elsa was nodding with her head and looking very surprised.

"So we've reached an agreement?" Mrs. Triton finally asked.

Elsa accepted shyly and slowly walked back to us.

"So… what was that about?" Merida asked curiously.

Elsa fidgeted with a loose strand of her hair, obviously nervous about the 'agreement.'

"I can combine both Creative Writing and Vocal Class for the final project in both classes. They want me to write a song and sing it."

"But that's amazing!" I exclaimed and her cheeks reddened a little. _You are amazing._

"It's nerve-wracking."

"Elsa. Everybody knows you have an extraordinary talent in both subjects. Besides, you have like three months to write it," I argued. Merida nodded at that.

"Three months… and I really don't know what it should be about."

"You will find out," Merida smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

* * *

I picked up Merida from her house that was fairly close to Jim's where we would meet up with the rest of the group. The first person I met at the door was her father, Fergus, a strongly built man with the same fiery red hair as his daughter. Both Zane and Jane appeared behind him, apparently also ready to leave for Jim's. _How long has Jane been in there?_ I had known Fergus for a really long time and was close with the family, so picking up Merida didn't feel awkward at all.

"Jamie, m'boy," Fergus laughed as I entered the house. "How're you doin' lad?"

"Good, really good. Is Merida ready?"

"She sure is," Merida's mother, Elinor, said while coming down from Merida's room on the first floor. She looked excited somehow. It wasn't that often that I saw her exit the room like that. After Elinor, Merida followed in – _what really surprised me – _a dress! I had to admit, it looked amazing on her and complimented her style perfectly. It was knee-length, simple and dark green with long sleeves, but with a bare neck that outlined her fit body. She had but on fairly long brown boots, that somehow wouldn't work with the dress on anyone but her. She left her hair as it was; like fire. As she strolled down from the stairs, I couldn't help but to stare at her for a very long time, which earned me a remark from Fergus and my made my cheeks redden a bit.

"Do you like the dress?" she asked biting her lips.

"Merida, If I like it? I love it!"

She chuckled. "Elsa and I found it together. She said it complimented my hair."

"It does." As we were facing each other, I also noticed that she – to my surprise again - wore just a little bit make-up. I cleared my throat because I felt her, Zane, and Jane gazing expectantly at me; ready to leave. I had apparently been staring at Merida for a bit too long.

"So are you guys ready?" Jane smiled at the two of us.

"Sure," Merida said.

* * *

"Where's the princess?" Jim asked the circle of friends that had met up at the table with punch bowls after a couple of dance numbers in the warm. All of us were a bit sweaty from dancing, and I was strangely enjoying myself. Merida and I had been dancing just as crazy as back in primary school, showing off our skills to the rest of the group which made everyone laugh. During the last song, Elsa had suddenly disappeared.

"It's Elsa, Jim," I protested. "Seriously dude, her family ain't royal anymore." _Though I have to admit; what are the odds that her family actually was royal once. It's crazy. _

"Still… where is she?" Punzie asked with worry in her face.

"Maybe outside? It's so warm in here…" I suggested.

"By herself?" Punzie's worry made her voice squeakier. It was fascinating how quickly Elsa had bonded with her. _And Merida and I._ Punzie's comments also made me worry a bit. Why would she not be with the rest of us?

"I'll look for her outside," Punzie quickly said, taking Flynn's hand in hers and moving out of the gym in a quick pace.

It took perhaps five minutes before Punzie returned, without Flynn – but with Elsa in her hand instead. Elsa came in the gym door looking confused and pale, her eyes staring straight ahead.

"Elsa, wait, please – look at me! I thought you were… What did that… that mean?" a familiar voice called following after Elsa. _Is that – is that Jack entering the gym? What is he doing here and why does he look so disoriented? _

Elsa had to ignore his calling while following Punzie back into the gym, though I could see she was feeling rather uncomfortable by the whole situation as she stared longingly at him. It was clear to both of them that she wanted to answer him, but that she couldn't. In fact, she looked paler than usual and the beautiful smile that had appeared so many times this evening had vanished. She walked slowly as though something was hurting her when walking.

As Punzie walked past me with Elsa, I could hear her mumble something to Elsa. "Seriously Elsa, I thought you were one of those Danes who could control some drinking, but what happened out there was… seriously weird. Flynn thought so too, but we won't tell anyone... We should just dance it off."

_What happened?_ Jack kept trying to reach Elsa, but she walked off and disappeared with her host sister on the dance floor. I moved quickly towards Jack to receive some answers.

"Jamie!" he exclaimed, somewhat relieved to see me. "I don't understand – "

"Ssssh, follow me outside. People would think I'm crazy if I talk with no one."

But before we had the chance to go, a scream echoed on the dance floor. _Punzie_. The music stopped abruptly and a circle of students surrounded a scene on the floor. I pushed myself through the crowd and gasped. Elsa lay sideways on the floor of the gym, unconscious. Her messy, but beautiful long hair – _I think it's the first time I've seen her hair down –_ was all over her face and her eyes were closed. Punzie bent over her and it was a matter of milliseconds before I joined her together with Merida who came from the other side of the dance floor. Jack hovered over us with his staff in his hand and landed beside me, giving me a quick sideways glance, but otherwise remained focused on Elsa. His recent perplexed state had turned to anxiety.

"What happened?" I yelped.

"She said she had a headache and suddenly fell to the ground," Punzie panicky explained to me.

"What is going on?" Jane's father and biology teacher, Mr. Porter, broke through the crowd. As he saw who lay on the ground, he told everyone to scatter except for Elsa's friends.

Mr. Porter bent down with the rest of us and checked her breathing. "Just unconscious. No wonder, it's too hot in here. Jane -" He looked around for his daughter. "Ah, there you are – go and grab some water and an energy bar."

There were a few relieved sighs from the circle around her.

I laid my hands on her left shoulder and quietly shook her. "Elsa?"

There was no reaction. Mr. Porter removed the hair from her face, revealing an Elsa who looked as though she was calmly sleeping on her side, like a little child. It was very unlike her. The only thing that spoke against it was the fact that s small tear had formed from her closed lids and ran down from her cheek. But before the tear could fall down on the ground, something took me by complete surprise. Jack lifted his hands and brushed the now frozen tear away, gently caressing her cheek afterwards with the rest of his hand. At this moment, I looked at his face. You could clearly tell many different feelings were running through him. This gesture – finally – made Elsa react, her eyes twitched and a few seconds afterwards she blinked and looked up. I was a bit taken aback by the fact that she reacted to a _spirit_, and not an actual warm human touch. She stared firstly at Jack for quite some time and it felt as though they were having some sort of confused silent conversation by themselves, then she turned her gaze shortly from Punzie to me, and then lastly to Mr. Porter and the rest of the group.

"How are you feeling, Elsa?" Mr. Porter asked with a comforting smile. He handed her some water in a bottle that Jane had given him, which she thankfully accepted after sitting up.

She took a hand to her head and groaned.

"Better than before… though – though I feel cold," she shuddered. She then made a petite sneeze, which made the rest of the group chuckle - relief filled the air.

_But the cold doesn't bother you, Elsa. Remember?_ Worry was still very evident on my face and Merida noticed, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You poor girl. You better head home," Mr. Porter smiled. "Rapunzel, will you please make the arrangements?"

Punzie nodded quickly and called her parents to come and pick them up. After Elsa had drunk a few sips of water, Mr. Porter handed an energy bar to her.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I have no appetite," she said quietly.

"But there's chocolate in it! It's your favourite," Punzie said, shocked.

"I – I just can't right now." She had her eyes fixed on Jack's, which to the others must had seemed strange, as though she refused to look at them and stared into the wall. _Something has happened between them_.

"You might have a cold or something similar to that. Can you stand up?" Mr. Porter asked and I quickly offered my hand to help. She nodded at him, but refused my hand and tried to get up herself. She lost her balance shortly while walking to one of the tables on the side of the gym, but Jack caught her before anything happened that looked too mysterious for the others to notice. Somehow I didn't like how close and touchy the winter guardian suddenly was to her; it gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach. After she had sat down, the music started playing again and the rest of the students came on the dance floor. Somehow I suddenly didn't feel like I was in the mood for that anymore, which Merida agreed on. Merida and I entertained Punzie and Elsa for a few minutes before they had to leave while the rest of our friends started to dance again. Punzie then got a text from her mother saying that she was at the school, took her arms around Elsa's shoulders, and they walked quietly out of the gym.

* * *

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**A/N: I KNOW. DRAMA. SO MANY QUESTIONS. WHY IS ELSA GETTING A COLD? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY WON'T SHE EAT CHOCOLATE :O I'll leave you guys to see it for yourself in the next chapter, which will probably take me some time to write because it's a very important chapter to me and for the whole story actually, hence I really want it to be good. **

**Where is my favourite anonymous guest ? :/ I already miss you and your many questions. **

**Thank you everyone for the new follows, favs, and reviews. (Everytime I see an e-mail from fanfiction I get all warm and fuzzy inside. It means a lot!) So please feel free to review especially, it makes me write faster and motivates me! Now for the reviews: **

**Thank you for the overwhelming response to the Jelsa-kiss in last chapter, Lela 456, Happypenguin177, Lostblueheart 16, and Snowflake31. I was afraid it was a bit cheesy in the end, but I guess you all liked it. **

**Thank you very much YouNameIt1. You are definitely on the right track there; there are many missing holes in Sandy's and North's story about Old Man Winter, Pitch and The Snow Queen. And that is, of course, what I think both Elsa and Jack are realizing now that they've found the grave of the Snow Queen and that poem. "ar****e you going to write how the others will feel if they see Elsa kissing nothing because they don't believe in Jack?" – I think I gave you a hint of how Punzie and Flynn reacted in this chapter… **


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